MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — An earthquake shook a backcountry area in the northwest part of Yellowstone National Park on Thursday evening.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the preliminary 4.5 magnitude quake occurred in a backcountry area at 6:48 p.m., about 8 miles northeast of West Yellowstone, Montana.
The West Yellowstone Police Department says the earthquake was felt in the town that borders the park but there were no reports of damage.
The University of Utah Seismograph Stations said the quake was part of “an energetic sequence” of about 30 earthquakes magnitude 2 and larger in the area that began on Monday and continued into Friday. Thursday’s quake was the largest to occur in Yellowstone since a 4.8 magnitude quake in March 2014.
Earthquakes occur frequently in and around Yellowstone.
In 1959, the Hebgen Lake earthquake near Yellowstone in Montana killed 28 people.