QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT

No earthquake was likely felt in West Yellowstone in the 24 hours to 12:25 pm MST (19:25 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, at 5:48 am MST on 19 December 2025 (12:48 UTC), 4.9 km deep.

USGS: 23 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming

5:48 am MST, Dec 19, 2025 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near West Yellowstone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Park County 78 kmFremont County 82 kmGallatin County 84 kmTeton County 89 kmMadison County 103 kmPark County 105 kmTeton County 119 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
5:48 am MST on 19 December 2025 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) northeast of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
4.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Park County, 78 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Red Canyon fault, 13 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 327 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In West Yellowstone, 25 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 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 15,000 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. 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 28 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 5 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 3 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 16 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 20 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 44.7940, -110.8450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Park County, MT 78 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Park County
Fremont County, ID 82 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Fremont County
Gallatin County, MT 84 km (52 mi) NNW earthquakes near Gallatin County
Teton County, WY 89 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Teton County
Madison County, MT 103 km (64 mi) NW earthquakes near Madison County
Park County, WY 105 km (65 mi) ESE earthquakes near Park County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 29 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  2. 1.8 20 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
  3. 2.1 1 km SW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  4. 2.0 10 km WSW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  5. 2.5 22 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming
  6. 1.7 18 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  7. 1.8 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  8. 1.6 23 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  9. 2.4 22 km SSW of Mammoth, Wyoming
  10. 1.6 19 km S of Mammoth, Wyoming
  11. 1.7 11 km E of Island Park, Idaho
  12. 1.9 7 km N of West Yellowstone, Montana
  13. 1.8 7 km N of West Yellowstone, Montana
  14. 1.5 8 km E of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
  15. 1.6 34 km SE 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.