QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 8:31 am MST (15:31 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 8:29 am MDT on 5 May 2023 (14:29 UTC), 3.7 km deep.

USGS: 45 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana

8:29 am MDT, May 5, 2023 · · 3.7 km deep · released about 36 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Teton County 49 kmFremont County 76 kmPark County 79 kmTeton County 93 kmPark County 110 kmMadison 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
8:29 am MDT on 5 May 2023 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) east-southeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
3.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Teton County, 49 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Eagle Bay 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 1283 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 45 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 36 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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 4.4 on 2017-06-16 — about 2,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 27 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 30 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 13 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 45 km NNW 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 44.4733, -110.5948. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Teton County, WY 49 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Teton County
Fremont County, ID 76 km (47 mi) WSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Park County, WY 79 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Park County
Teton County, ID 93 km (58 mi) SSW earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, MT 110 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Park County
Madison County, ID 114 km (71 mi) SW earthquakes near Madison County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 28 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.7 Wyoming
  3. 2.8 17 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  4. 1.9 44 km SE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  5. 1.6 16 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  6. 1.9 Wyoming
  7. 1.9 21 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  8. 1.7 50 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 1.6 50 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 1.6 13 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  11. 1.5 27 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  12. 1.7 46 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  13. 1.6 39 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  14. 1.9 30 km SE of Mammoth, Wyoming
  15. 1.8 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

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