All earthquakesMontana

Montana earthquakes in 1980

13 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in Montana in 1980. The largest: M4.5 22 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana, Feb 22, 1980.

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

19791981

Map

Where every quake of 1980 was located in Montana. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1980

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19800
February 198034.522 km NE of West Yellowstone, Montana
March 198024.015 km SSE of Harrison, Montana
April 198023.818 km ESE of Ovando, Montana
May 198014.27 km W of Hebgen Lake Estates, Montana
June 19800
July 198033.36 km SSE of Pony, Montana
August 198013.424 km NE of Ovando, Montana
September 19800
October 19800
November 198013.29 km SSE of West Yellowstone, Montana
December 19800

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 1980

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.