Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Richfield, UT
No earthquake was likely felt in Richfield in the 24 hours to 11:26 pm MST (06:26 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 34 km (21 mi) W, at 8:35 am MDT on 22 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Richfield
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Richfield, UT, at 10:33 pm MST on 16 January 2020 (05:33 UTC), 20 km deep.
USGS: 26 km W of Emery, Utah
- When
- 10:33 pm MST on 16 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Richfield, UT · earthquakes near Richfield
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Sevier County, 27 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2492 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Richfield, UT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Richfield, UT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Richfield, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Salina.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 lb of TNT
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 25 km SE of Salina, Utah · 8 km SW of this epicentre
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 38.8785, -111.5438. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sevier County, UT | 27 km (17 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sevier County |
| Sanpete County, UT | 55 km (34 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sanpete County |
| Emery County, UT | 73 km (45 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Emery County |
| Piute County, UT | 79 km (49 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Piute County |
| Wayne County, UT | 84 km (52 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Wayne County |
| Garfield County, UT | 117 km (73 mi) | S | earthquakes near Garfield County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 12 km SW of Fayette, Utah
- 1.6 7 km N of Redmond, Utah
- 1.6 14 km SW of Emery, Utah
- 1.9 12 km WNW of Emery, Utah
- 1.8 19 km WNW of Emery, Utah
- 1.5 5 km ENE of Mayfield, Utah
- 2.6 12 km N of Koosharem, Utah
- 2.0 30 km NE of Fremont, Utah
- 2.0 26 km SW of Emery, Utah
- 1.7 27 km SSW of Emery, Utah
- 2.2 27 km SW of Emery, Utah
- 2.0 12 km WNW of Emery, Utah
- 2.2 4 km N of Richfield, Utah
- 2.4 16 km NNE of Koosharem, Utah
- 1.5 25 km ESE of Salina, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.