Stanley, ID – A swarm of more than a dozen small earthquakes shook an area north of Stanley on Monday, drawing attention from seismologists and local residents amid heightened geological activity.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the seismic sequence began just after midnight and continued throughout the day, with magnitudes ranging from 2.6 to 3.4. The strongest quake, a magnitude 3.4, occurred late Sunday at 8:39 p.m. UTC, followed closely by multiple events clustered between 13 and 17 kilometers north-northwest of Stanley. Depths of the quakes ranged from 3.3 km to 16.7 km.
Several of the tremors happened within seconds of each other. Notably, two magnitude 3.2 quakes struck within 16 minutes on Monday morning, both at depths around 6 km. These back-to-back events, combined with the overall number and tight geographic concentration, are considered unusual but not unprecedented in central Idaho’s active seismic zone.
No injuries or structural damage have been reported, and only limited public responses were submitted through the USGS’s “Did You Feel It?” system.
The region lies near the Sawtooth Fault, a known seismic feature responsible for past activity. Swarms like this can occur without warning and may or may not be precursors to larger events, though officials emphasized there is currently no indication of a major quake imminent.
USGS scientists continue to monitor the swarm and have flagged the event for further geological analysis.
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