QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 9:51 am MST (16:51 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 10:21 pm MDT on 15 May 2025 (04:21 UTC), 9.8 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana

10:21 pm MDT, May 15, 2025 · · 9.8 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fremont County 67 kmGallatin County 89 kmTeton County 90 kmPark County 91 kmMadison County 96 kmTeton County 108 kmClark County 115 kmMadison County 115 kmPark County 117 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
10:21 pm MDT on 15 May 2025 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) northeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Montana today
every earthquake in Montana in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fremont County, 67 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Red Canyon fault, 5 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 544 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 9 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 11 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 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 9,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 15 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 17 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 34 km E 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 44.7260, -111.0387. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fremont County, ID 67 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fremont County
Gallatin County, MT 89 km (55 mi) N earthquakes near Gallatin County
Teton County, WY 90 km (56 mi) SSE earthquakes near Teton County
Park County, MT 91 km (57 mi) NNE earthquakes near Park County
Madison County, MT 96 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near Madison County
Teton County, ID 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Teton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 27 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  2. 1.8 24 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  3. 2.1 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  4. 1.6 36 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  5. 1.7 14 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  6. 1.5 23 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  7. 1.7 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  8. 1.7 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 1.6 23 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 2.0 30 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  11. 1.7 30 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  12. 1.8 30 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 1.7 27 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  14. 2.3 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  15. 2.3 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

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