M3.3 earthquake 16 km S of Whitehall, Montana

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 16 km S of Whitehall, Montana on Mon, Sep 5, 2016, 7:42 AM MDT (13:42 UTC), 8 km (5 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.3 16 km S of Whitehall, Montana. This one was a foreshock.

Map

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

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
3.31	ML, local (Richter)	Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology	Preferred · Final · ±0.36 · 25 stations
3.3	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.36 · 25 stations

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

Felt at Bozeman, Cardwell, Helena, Silver Star and Whitehall.

From the USGS event page for mb80168539. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

6 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 16 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event mb80168539 (also filed as us10006kl0). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 5:11 PM UTC.