M2.6 earthquake 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 14 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana on Thu, Dec 14, 2017, 10:47 AM MST (17:47 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.6 13 km SSW of Lincoln, 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
2.6	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.069 · 28 stations
2.71	ML, local (Richter)	Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology	Final · ±0.124 · 9 stations

1 person 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: 48 in the 60 days after this one and 28 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000c4ez (also filed as mb80274179). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:52 PM UTC.