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M 3.6 Earthquake 5 km NW of Black Eagle, Montana on Aug 18 2026

Source: USGS · Montana

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 5 km NW of Black Eagle. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M3.6 is classified "Minor". Among the 1,740 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M3.6 event ranks stronger than 36% of them (rank #1,059 by magnitude).

Read this earthquake report in 30 seconds

Magnitude
M 3.6
USGS class
Minor
Location
5 km NW of Black Eagle
Archive rank
#1,059 of 1,740
Source
USGS
Published
September 18, 2026
MINOR

Sits above 36% of the 1,740 earthquakes in the archive by magnitude; 1,058 ran stronger.

Record status: a point-in-time USGS detection. Aftershocks, revised magnitude, and felt-report data continue to update on USGS's own event page after publication.

What Happened

A M 3.6 ml earthquake occurred 5 km NW of Black Eagle, Montana, on 2026-08-18 at 12:00:42 UTC (timestamp 1789738842979). The event was recorded at coordinates 47.5572 latitude, -111.3244 longitude, with a depth of 27.731 km.

Location Details

The earthquake was located 5 km northwest of Black Eagle, Montana. This places it at an intermediate depth (20-70 km), which can result in less intense surface shaking compared to shallower events.

Impact Assessment

The earthquake was felt by 84 people, with a maximum reported intensity (CDI) of 3.2 and MMI of 3.354. No tsunami was generated (tsunami advisory status: 0). No alert level was issued.

What You Should Know

This was a minor earthquake (M 2.5-3.9 range), which is often felt but rarely causes damage. Residents in the area should be aware that aftershocks remain possible following any seismic event.

Source

Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000tiax

Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗

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Elsewhere in the country: similar length or severity timing 8

Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this USGS earthquake report: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.

Similar body length

Nearest notices by article body length (973 characters here).

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Similar severity timing

Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to September 18, 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this USGS earthquake report.

What magnitude was this earthquake? ▾
A magnitude 3.6 ml earthquake struck 5 km northwest of Black Eagle, Montana, at a depth of 27.7 km.
What does an M3.6 "Minor" reading actually indicate? ▾
The USGS classifies M3.6 as "Minor" on its Earthquake Hazards Program scale. Events in this range are often felt near the epicenter and can cause minor damage to vulnerable structures, though widespread damage is uncommon.
Where does this event rank against Areazine's other recorded earthquakes? ▾
This is the #1,059 strongest of the 1,740 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive by magnitude, stronger than 36% of them and weaker than 1,058 others.
Was Black Eagle likely to feel this earthquake? ▾
This event was centered 5 km NW of Black Eagle. Shaking intensity falls off sharply with distance from the epicenter and depends on depth and local geology, so check the USGS "Did You Feel It?" report for this event for real felt-shaking data rather than assuming from magnitude and distance alone.

Source data

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