All earthquakesMontana

Montana earthquakes in 1979

15 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Montana in 1979. The largest: M4.6 15 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana, May 7, 1979.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19781980

Map

Where every quake of 1979 was located in Montana. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1979

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 197924.121 km WNW of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
February 19790
March 19790
April 197913.26 km SW of Little Browning, Montana
May 197974.615 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
June 197914.419 km NW of Dillon, Montana
July 197913.52 km NNE of Polson, Montana
August 197913.828 km E of Shelby, Montana
September 19790
October 197913.111 km NW of Batavia, Montana
November 197913.110 km SE of Willow Creek, Montana
December 19790

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Montana nowWorldwide in 1979

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.