QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Montpelier, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Montpelier in the 24 hours to 11:31 pm MST (06:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 19 km (12 mi) WNW, at 9:59 pm MST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Montpelier

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Montpelier, ID, at 2:47 am MST on 16 November 2022 (09:47 UTC), 4.5 km deep.

USGS: southern Idaho

2:47 am MST, Nov 16, 2022 · · 4.5 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 20 kmLincoln County 34 kmFranklin County 60 kmRich County 67 kmCaribou County 73 kmCache County 76 kmBannock County 107 kmUinta County 113 kmSublette County 115 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:47 am MST on 16 November 2022 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) southeast of Montpelier, ID · earthquakes near Montpelier
Idaho today
every earthquake in Idaho in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
4.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 20 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Eastern Bear Lake fault, 14 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 1456 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Montpelier, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 lb of TNT

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 5.0 on 2017-09-10 — about 78,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 8 km W of Garden City, Utah · 45 km SW 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 42.2170, -111.0993. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 20 km (13 mi) WNW earthquakes near Bear Lake County
Lincoln County, WY 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Lincoln County
Franklin County, ID 60 km (37 mi) W earthquakes near Franklin County
Rich County, UT 67 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Rich County
Caribou County, ID 73 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Caribou County
Cache County, UT 76 km (47 mi) SW earthquakes near Cache County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.6 13 km SW of Fairview, Wyoming
  2. 2.1 7 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  3. 1.8 7 km SW of Saint Charles, Idaho
  4. 1.8 16 km E of Saint Charles, Idaho
  5. 2.3 18 km WSW of Georgetown, Idaho
  6. 1.8 10 km SW of Georgetown, Idaho
  7. 2.2 10 km SW of Georgetown, Idaho
  8. 1.8 17 km SE of Grace, Idaho
  9. 1.9 8 km N of Georgetown, Idaho
  10. 2.1 17 km WSW of Georgetown, Idaho
  11. 1.9 15 km WSW of Bloomington, Idaho
  12. 2.1 3 km W of Bennington, Idaho
  13. 1.6 11 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  14. 1.8 2 km NW of Georgetown, Idaho
  15. 2.0 southern Idaho

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.