The National Earthquake Studies Center has reported a small temblor that occurred early Monday morning in the western Montana Mountains.

Director of the Earthquake Studies Office at the Montana Bureau of Mines in Butte, Mike Stickney, said the quake was relatively small in size.

"There was a small earthquake that occurred north of Condon, Montana, about 13 miles north of Condon just after 8:00 a.m.," Stickney said. "It was a magnitude 3.0. It's possible that someone close to the epicenter might have noticed a little rumble or felt a tremble, but the epicenter was actually east of the Swan Valley, just into the Swan Mountains, so it's likely there weren't many people close to the epicenter  for this earthquake."

Stickney said earthquakes are very common in the mountains of western Montana.

"This area of the Swan Valley and adjoining Swan Mountains frequently experience small earthquakes," he said. "The majority of the time they're much smaller than Monday's earthquake, but it is an area that's seen activity in the past."

Stickney said a magnitude 3.0 earthquake is just at the lower end of the Richter Scale that residents in the area might notice.

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