Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a 5.8 Magnitude earthquake occurred 5.6 Miles Southeast of Lincoln, Montana in the late hours of July 5.

Kicking up at 11:30 p.m. PST, the earthquake reverberated across the region, startling people across Shoshone County and beyond.

The USGS also reported nine aftershocks close to the initial quake location.

Those aftershocks measured in at 4.9, 3.1, 3.5, 3.8, 4.5, 3.9, 3.5, 4.4, and 3.9 Magnitudes; almost all occurring within an hour of the first.

Shoshone News-Press (SNP) Facebook followers from all over the area reported feeling (and in some odd cases, not feeling) the quake.

Almost one person from every city in the Silver Valley said that they experienced the rumble in the ground.

Amy Clark in Osburn said that the quake “Shook my whole life up. Wtf.”

Cindy Beltz in Kellogg said that it “shook our bed!”

Linda Miller felt it eight miles up the Coeur d’Alene River while sitting in a camp chair around a fire.

“I knew something just happened!!,” she said.

Other SNP followers from Spokane, Washington, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and even Helena, Montana said that they were affected as well.

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center told SNP that aside from residents being woken up and chess pieces falling off boards, no injuries or damages have been reported locally.

With its relative proximity to Yellowstone National Park, many in the region expressed concern that the quake may have, in some way, been a warning of a Yellowstone supervolcano eruption.

Reports coming out of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) though are saying the opposite.

Jacob Lowenstern is the scientist-in-charge at the YVO and he was able to explain to the SNP how this earthquake, while only marginally near Yellowstone, is not raising any concerns from himself or other experts monitoring the volcano.

“Earthquakes happen,” Lowenstern said. “There are earthquake faults all through Montana and Idaho and this particular earthquake happened a long way from Yellowstone.”

232 miles away to be exact.

This earthquake is not even remotely close to being the biggest or closest earthquake to pose a serious threat to the Yellowstone supervolcano.

“Throughout the history of the monitoring that has gone on here in Yellowstone that have been over 100 magnitude seven earthquakes that have occurred near Yellowstone that haven’t caused an eruption,” Lowenstern said. “Including the 7.3 earthquake in 1959 that happen in West Yellowstone, Montana.”

The Hebgen Lake Earthquake, measured between 7.3 and 7.5 and caused 28 deaths and $11 million in damages and caused a landslide that blocked the Madison River and formed the aptly named Quake Lake.

Overall though, Lowenstern was quite adamant that there was nothing to be concerned about.

“Things here have been pretty steady and unchanged,” Lowenstern said. “We would need to see a strong indication that magma is moving and is going to to take a lot of movement for us to change our warning status. We really believe that this won’t change anything going on here in Yellowstone.”

A recent swarm of seismic activity in the Yellowstone area has scientists watching the park as close as ever, but at this time, the Yellowstone Volcano Hazards Program is remaining at a normal warning level and the park itself is still very safe to visit.

For more information on the Lincoln, Montana quake, visit https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10009757#executive.

More information on the Yellowstone supervolcano can be found at volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone

Did you feel the earthquake? Let us know in comments section below!