Yellowstone records an earthquake that occurred Thursday morning, felt up to 30 miles away

A 3.3 magnitude earthquake shook things up enough in Yellowstone National Park Thursday morning that people from up to 30 miles away could notice.

The epicenter was at 7:20 a.m. along Grand Loop Road, south of Canyon Junction, at a depth of 6.53 kilometers. That’s just over 4 miles below the surface.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), at least 14 people reported feeling the quake within 30 miles of the epicenter. Its intensity was low, and no damage was reported.

The USGS classified the earthquake as a “weak” Category 3 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. This means that the energy of the earthquake will be noticeable but not much stronger than the vibrations caused by a large truck passing by.

It’s not even the largest earthquake in Wyoming this week. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake was detected west of Rock Springs on Tuesday.

A 3.3 magnitude earthquake was felt north of Yellowstone Lake on Thursday, July 16, 2026, up to 30 miles away. It is the largest earthquake of the year so far in the national park. “We usually feel five earthquakes a year,” said one geologist. (USGS) Everyone shook

Earthquakes are very common in Yellowstone, one of the most tectonically active places in North America. According to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, 118 earthquakes were detected in June alone.

Thursday morning’s 3.3 magnitude quake was the largest to hit Yellowstone this year so far, but only a few quakes of this magnitude are expected each year.

“Earthquakes up to magnitude 3 are rare, but there are usually three to 10 of them in the Yellowstone area each year,” Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, previously told the Cowboy State Daily. “The vast majority of earthquakes are magnitude 2 or less.”

In 2025, 1,119 earthquakes occurred in and around Yellowstone. The largest earthquakes were three events with a magnitude of 3.7.

It was a “quiet year,” according to Poland. On average, between 1,500 and 2,500 earthquakes are detected in Yellowstone.

Catching feelings

When a magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck Yellowstone in January 2025, the park’s largest since 2023, it wasn’t even detected on a Raspberry Shake seismograph installed at the Wyoming Geological Survey headquarters in Laramie.

“We were about 350 miles from the epicenter,” geologist James Mauch said. “It was too distant and low-volume to be detected in Laramie.”

Magnitude 3.0 quakes are “pretty typical activity in Yellowstone,” according to Moch.

He said it may be a little stronger than the average Yellowstone earthquake, but not strong enough to be unusual.

“We typically feel about five earthquakes a year, so this is in line with the average,” he said.

What the earthquake does not indicate is any major change in Yellowstone’s volcanic systems. Even at a depth of 4 miles, Thursday morning’s quake was too shallow to indicate anything volcanic, which is true of most Yellowstone earthquakes.

“Because there are a lot of faults in the area and a lot of water moving through the ground, Yellowstone is a recipe for lots and lots of earthquakes,” Boland said. “There is nothing particularly anomalous about (a 3.3 magnitude earthquake), and none of these quakes are associated with any volcanic activity.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at [email protected].

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