QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6ml

Earthquake near Montpelier, ID

No earthquake was likely felt in Montpelier in the 24 hours to 12:14 am MST (07:14 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 3.6 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) southeast of Montpelier, ID, at 2:58 am MST on 16 November 2022 (09:58 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km NNW of Taylor, Wyoming

2:58 am MST, Nov 16, 2022 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 3.4 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bear Lake County 21 kmLincoln County 34 kmFranklin County 60 kmRich County 66 kmCaribou County 74 kmCache County 76 kmBannock County 108 kmUinta County 112 kmSublette County 114 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
2:58 am MST on 16 November 2022 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) southeast of Montpelier, ID · earthquakes near Montpelier
Magnitude
M 3.6 (ml)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Bear Lake County, 21 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Eastern Bear Lake 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 1383 days ago

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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Montpelier, 21 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: Montpelier 21 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 50,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.2× 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 5.0 on 2017-09-10 — about 140 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 42.2127, -111.0910. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bear Lake County, ID 21 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 (38 mi) W earthquakes near Franklin County
Rich County, UT 66 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Rich County
Caribou County, ID 74 km (46 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

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

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