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Earthquake swarm in southwest Montana

earthquake-swarm-southwest-montana

The USGS is recording numerous earthquakes about 10 km (6.2 miles) NE of Lima, Montana since M4.4 struck on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. 

27 earthquakes were recorded in the sequence by 14:45 UTC on April 11, including abovementioned M4.4, at depths between 2 and 13.3 km (1.2 – 8.2 miles).

Earthquakes detected near Lima, Montana from April 9 – 12, 2019. Credit: USGS

Lima, Montana M2.5+ earthquakes from April 9 – 11, 2019. Credit: Google, TW/SAM

Geologist Michael Stickney said were reports of Butte residents feeling Tuesday’s earthquakes, while some people in Lima described them as a bomb or an explosion, KTWQ reports.

One of Tuesday’s earthquakes occurred along a fairly active fault called the Centennial Tectonic Belt, Stickney said.

This fault hasn’t experienced a major quake in decades.

"The really significant earthquake that occurred in this zone was the 1983 Borah Peak Idaho earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.9. It resulted in two fatalities in Challis and caused significant damage," Stickney said.

Featured image credit: USGS

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