Did You Feel Montana’s Biggest Earthquake of 2024?
If you live in the Dillon area, there's a pretty good chance of feeling the biggest earthquake of the year in Montana.
But if you live outside Southwest Montana, it's likely you just kept sleeping like a baby.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports this one was strong enough to get your attention, but likely didn't cause any real damage before the low population density in the vicinity of the shake.
When did this latest Montana quake occur?
U.S.G.S reports the quake, hit just before 1:00 am, at 12:54 Monday morning and registered a very solid 4.1 magnitude. The epicenter was 7.4 miles east of Dillon, close to the Beaverhead-Madison County line in the Carter Creek drainage.
That's just east of Highway 41 between Dillon and Twin Bridges.
Residents in Dillon were reporting feeling their houses shake, and animals were very active just prior to the quake. But we've seen no reports of any actual damage.
U.S.G.S says the quake's epicenter was 8.5 miles deep, which is relatively shallow.
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Quake's impact was felt across Southwest Montana
U.S.G.S map that measures the community feeling the quake showed most of the reports coming in primarily from around Dillon and Beaverhead County, although some people are far east as Bozeman reported the shaking.
There were also additional reports as far north as Helena, Deer Lodge, Philipsburg, and Georgetown Lake in Granite County.
Earthquakes are fairly frequent in the Southwest corner of Montana, especially around Lima and Monida Pass, given the in proximity to Yellowstone. But so far, 2024 hasn't seen very many quakes above a 3 magnitude.