QuakeIndex

mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Vernal, UT

USGS: 20 km NNE of Vernal, Utah

3:18 pm MDT, May 24, 2022 · · 0.0 km deep · released about 1,900 lb of TNT

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10 km30 km60 km120 km N Daggett County 30 kmUintah County 56 kmDuchesne County 92 kmMoffat County 103 kmUinta County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
3:18 pm MDT on 24 May 2022 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) NNE of Vernal, UT · earthquakes near Vernal
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Daggett County, 30 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1522 days ago

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) NNE of Vernal, UT, at 3:18 pm MDT on 24 May 2022 (21:18 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Maeser, Naples.

USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× more

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 40.6263, -109.4424. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Daggett County, UT 30 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Daggett County
Uintah County, UT 56 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near Uintah County
Duchesne County, UT 92 km (57 mi) WSW earthquakes near Duchesne County
Moffat County, CO 103 km (64 mi) E earthquakes near Moffat County
Uinta County, WY 119 km (74 mi) NW earthquakes near Uinta County
Sweetwater County, WY 124 km (77 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sweetwater County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.1 24 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  2. 3.1 18 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  3. 3.3 16 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  4. 1.9 12 km SSW of Jensen, Utah
  5. 3.0 21 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  6. 3.1 20 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  7. 3.4 22 km NNE of Vernal, Utah
  8. 3.2 18 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  9. 3.1 20 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  10. 3.3 25 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  11. 3.1 15 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  12. 3.2 15 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  13. 3.3 17 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  14. 3.1 18 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
  15. 3.4 18 km NNE of Vernal, Utah

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.