Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 0.5md
Earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT
USGS: 33 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana
- When
- 2:34 am MDT on 29 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) E of West Yellowstone, MT · earthquakes near West Yellowstone
- Magnitude
- M 0.5 (md)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Teton County, 71 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 4 days ago
A magnitude 0.5 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) E of West Yellowstone, MT, at 2:34 am MDT on 29 September 2026 (08:34 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 0.16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 1.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 0.5 about 0.16 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 660,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.2 The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 14 km N of Madison Junction, Wyoming · 21 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.3 22 km SW of Mammoth, Wyoming · 23 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 21 km E of West Yellowstone, Montana · 13 km W of this epicentre
- 5.9 26 km SSE of Mammoth, Wyoming · 11 km NNE 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 44.6583, -110.6782. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | 71 km (44 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Teton County |
| Fremont County, ID | 81 km (50 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fremont County |
| Park County, WY | 88 km (55 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Park County |
| Park County, MT | 90 km (56 mi) | N | earthquakes near Park County |
| Gallatin County, MT | 103 km (64 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Gallatin County |
| Teton County, ID | 108 km (67 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Teton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.8 25 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
- 1.1 7 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
- 0.6 5 km ENE of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.