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Small earthquake rattles Glacier County

Posted at 4:01 PM, Oct 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-22 18:55:15-04
The quake was centered about 25 miles north-northwest of Cut Bank.
The quake was centered about 25 miles north-northwest of Cut Bank.

A small earthquake shook parts of Glacier County on Monday morning.

There have not been any reports of injuries or major damage.

The quake was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey as 3.1 magnitude.

It happened at about 8:12 a.m. on Monday at a depth of about 3.6 miles, according to the USGS.

The quake was centered about 25 miles north-northwest of Cut Bank.







The strongest earthquake to hit Montana in more than a decade happened near Lincoln in July 2017; click here to read about it.




BACKGROUND: According to the USGS, Montana is one of the most seismically-active states in the country, although the vast majority of recorded earthquakes are very small, causing no damage and rarely noticed by people. 

Montana is located within the Intermountain Seismic Belt, an active earthquake region stretching along the Rocky Mountains. It is the fourth-most seismically active state, although the vast majority of earthquakes in Montana are too small to be felt.

But there are exceptions. About 90 years ago, a large earthquake hit southwest Montana. The quake damaged a school house in Three Forks, twisted railroad tracks along the Missouri River, and damaged a jail in White Sulphur Springs. 

Ten years after that another big quake hit Helena, killing two people and causing millions of dollars in damage. It damaged churches, collapsed walls right out of homes, and hit commercial and government buildings as well.