Idaho earthquakes

M3.0 earthquake 10 km SE of Challis, Idaho

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 10 km SE of Challis, Idaho on Sat, Jan 3, 2015, 1:38 PM MST (20:38 UTC), 12 km (8 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.8 5 km ESE of Challis, Idaho. This one was a foreshock.

Challis forecast More in Idaho

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.0 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, Jan 3, 2015, 1:38 PM MST
UTC: 2015-01-03 20:38:09 UTC
Depth: 12.3 km (7.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 44.444° N, 114.137° W
Region: Idaho
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.0	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
2.9	Mc	Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology	Preliminary · ±0.5 · 3 stations

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at Challis.

From the USGS event page for usc000tcae. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 2.7 km horizontally, 5.4 km in depth
Station coverage gap: 53°
Stations used: 28

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 81 in the 60 days after this one and 40 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of 81.

Before

Earthquakes today Idaho earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usc000tcae (also filed as mbmb15128146, mb15128146). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 11:32 AM UTC.