M3.8 earthquake 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 13 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana on Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 5:11 AM MDT (11:11 UTC), 14 km (9 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 3.8 (Mwr, regional moment), minor
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2018-04-17 11:11:14 UTC
- Depth
- 14.5 km (9.0 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.892° N, 112.531° W
- Region
- Montana
- Felt reports
- 92
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- PAGER alert
- Green
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.8 | Mwr, regional moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.083 · 14 stations |
| 4.33 | ML, local (Richter) | Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology | Final · ±0.298 · 28 stations |
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 139.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 0.3 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic

Did you feel it?
92 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

Estimated impact
The USGS PAGER system estimates deaths and economic losses from the shaking and the population and buildings exposed to it.
- Alert level
- Green: little or no damage or loss of life expected
| Range | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
| Range, million USD | Chance |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | 65% |
| 1 to 10 | 30% |
| 10 to 100 | 4% |
| 100 to 1,000 | Under 1% |
| 1,000 to 10,000 | Under 1% |
| 10,000 to 100,000 | Under 1% |
| 100,000 to 10,000,000 | Under 1% |
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Strike-slip
- Moment magnitude
- 3.8 Mwr
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 110°, dip 77°, rake 168°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 203°, dip 78°, rake 13°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Location uncertainty
- About 4.3 km horizontally, 10.8 km in depth
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.08
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 57°
- Stations used
- 49
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 47 in the 60 days after this one and 12 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.516 km NNW of Marysville, Montana · 3093 days ago · 10 km deep · 14 km away · felt by 5
- 2.014 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3093 days ago · 11 km deep · 2 km away
- 1.813 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3093 days ago · 11 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.114 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3092 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
- 1.734 km NE of Seeley Lake, Montana · 3092 days ago · 21 km deep · 73 km away
- 2.313 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3091 days ago · 10 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.811 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3090 days ago · 9 km deep · 4 km away · felt by 4
- 1.514 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3090 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
- 1.514 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3090 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 2.514 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3089 days ago · 13 km deep · 1 km away · felt by 2
- 1.613 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3089 days ago · 11 km deep · 0 km away
- 1.614 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3080 days ago · 15 km deep · 2 km away
- 2.015 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3080 days ago · 15 km deep · 3 km away · felt by 1
- 1.712 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3079 days ago · 14 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.117 km N of Helena Valley Northwest, Montana · 3079 days ago · 5 km deep · 38 km away
- 1.714 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3076 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
- 1.627 km W of Augusta, Montana · 3074 days ago · 24 km deep · 65 km away
- 2.326 km W of Augusta, Montana · 3074 days ago · 25 km deep · 64 km away
- 1.914 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3072 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
- 1.814 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3072 days ago · 17 km deep · 2 km away
- 1.910 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3072 days ago · 13 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.814 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3071 days ago · 13 km deep · 1 km away
- 1.514 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3069 days ago · 12 km deep · 2 km away
- 1.514 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3067 days ago · 14 km deep · 2 km away
- 3.616 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3066 days ago · 14 km deep · 6 km away · felt by 14
- 3.117 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3066 days ago · 10 km deep · 6 km away · felt by 1
- 1.514 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3066 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.615 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3066 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.714 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3066 days ago · 12 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.615 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3065 days ago · 15 km deep · 3 km away
- 2.311 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3061 days ago · 15 km deep · 2 km away
- 1.615 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3057 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.716 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3057 days ago · 15 km deep · 4 km away
- 2.414 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3054 days ago · 10 km deep · 2 km away
- 2.814 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3050 days ago · 13 km deep · 2 km away · felt by 2
- 1.515 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3050 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 2.05 km SSW of Lincoln, Montana · 3048 days ago · 14 km deep · 13 km away
- 1.714 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3047 days ago · 17 km deep · 2 km away
- 2.011 km W of Lincoln, Montana · 3043 days ago · 14 km deep · 24 km away
- 2.14 km W of East Helena, Montana · 3042 days ago · 5 km deep · 54 km away · felt by 2
- 1.58 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana · 3040 days ago · 4 km deep · 8 km away
- 1.816 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3040 days ago · 15 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.914 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3038 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.615 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3036 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away
- 1.611 km NW of Garrison, Montana · 3034 days ago · 3 km deep · 44 km away
- 1.617 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3034 days ago · 13 km deep · 4 km away
- 2.415 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3033 days ago · 10 km deep · 3 km away · felt by 1
Before
- 2.520 km N of Avon, Montana · 3096 days ago · 15 km deep · 13 km away · felt by 1
- 2.417 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3097 days ago · 12 km deep · 4 km away
- 2.312 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3100 days ago · 10 km deep · 1 km away
- 3.112 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3100 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away · felt by 2
- 1.817 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3104 days ago · 16 km deep · 4 km away
- 1.612 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3104 days ago · 12 km deep · 1 km away
- 2.13 km WSW of Lincoln, Montana · 3106 days ago · 11 km deep · 15 km away · felt by 3
- 2.115 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3109 days ago · 14 km deep · 3 km away · felt by 6
- 1.63 km WSW of Lincoln, Montana · 3114 days ago · 14 km deep · 15 km away
- 1.514 km SE of Lincoln, Montana · 3118 days ago · 12 km deep · 3 km away
- 2.812 km SSE of Lincoln, Montana · 3118 days ago · 13 km deep · 7 km away · felt by 2
- 1.813 km ESE of Lincoln, Montana · 3121 days ago · 12 km deep · 0 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us2000e1ga (also filed as mb80290219). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 7:15 AM UTC.