Shallow M4.2 Earthquake struck on Thursday Afternoon near Great Falls in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 29th, 2026. Last updated February 19th, 2026.

In the early afternoon of Thursday January 29th, 2026, a shallow MAG-4.2 earthquake hit under land 9 miles from Great Falls in The United States. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 500 thousand people. Another nearby country is Canada.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 9 miles (14 km) north-northeast of Great Falls in Montana. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 13 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 29, 2026 12:41PM (Denver Time) - Jan 29, 2026 19:41 Universal Time.
Location:	9 mi NNE of Great Falls, Montana, The United States. Coordinates 47°36'14"N 111°11'55"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.2 Detected by 53 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.043 .
Depth:	13 mi (20 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 500 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 500 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 95,800 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 310 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Canada .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
92,330	II	Very weak	None
313,200	III	Weak	Probably none
95,800	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

The United States and Canada are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Great Falls in Montana, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 9 miles (14 km) north-northeast of Great Falls. The intensity of shaking and damage in Great Falls is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
9 mi (14 km) SSW from epicenter	Great Falls Montana, The United States.	IV Light
80 mi (129 km) SSW from epicenter	Helena Montana, The United States.	III Weak
127 mi (205 km) SSW from epicenter	Butte Montana, The United States.	II Weak
133 mi (214 km) S from epicenter	Bozeman Montana, The United States.
140 mi (226 km) WSW from epicenter	Missoula Montana, The United States.
150 mi (241 km) WNW from epicenter	Kalispell Montana, The United States.
262 km (163 mi) NNW from epicenter	Lethbridge Alberta, Canada.
273 km (170 mi) N from epicenter	Medicine Hat Alberta, Canada.
180 mi (289 km) SE from epicenter	Billings Montana, The United States.	III Weak

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada: 1 person.

3 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 3 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 5 mi (8 km) south of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 3.2

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.2	Jan 29, 2026 12:41PM (Denver Time)	-
Aftershock	M 2.7	5 hrs later Jan 29, 2026 05:46PM (Denver Time)	3 mi (6 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	2 days later Jan 31, 2026 06:22PM (Denver Time)	5 mi (8 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	2 days later Jan 31, 2026 06:22PM (Denver Time)	5 mi (8 km) S from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 9 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 6th, 2017, when a 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit 82 mi (131 km) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck on July 6th, 2017.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 13 mi (20 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 19/02/26 00:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.