Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9ml
Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT
No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 10:29 pm MST (05:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 11 km (7 mi) NNW, at 1:21 am MDT on 8 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near West Yellowstone
This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) east-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 6:55 am MDT on 18 September 2022 (12:55 UTC), 11 km deep. 29 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- When
- 6:55 am MDT on 18 September 2022 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) east-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 29 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Park County, 78 km NNE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Red Canyon fault, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1446 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Yellowstone, MT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 91 km (57 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 27 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: West Yellowstone 27 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 14,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 12 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 25× more
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 4.4 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 31 km W of this epicentre
- 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 7 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 5 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 16 km S of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 17 km ESE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 44.7892, -110.8097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park County, MT | 78 km (48 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Park County |
| Fremont County, ID | 83 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 86 km (53 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Teton County, WY | 88 km (55 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Park County, WY | 102 km (63 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Park County |
| Madison County, MT | 105 km (65 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Madison County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.2 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.4 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 1.6 42 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.3 34 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.5 34 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.8 34 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.6 33 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.2 34 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 2.1 7 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- 2.8 6 km ESE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- 1.5 23 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.0 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
- 2.6 23 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.