QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Magna, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Magna in the 24 hours to 3:48 am MST (10:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (3 mi) ENE, at 8:46 am MDT on 17 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 28 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Magna

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north of Magna, UT, at 7:11 am MDT on 18 March 2020 (13:11 UTC), 6.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km N of Magna, Utah

14 km (9 mi) W of Salt Lake City, UT · 11 km (7 mi) NW of West Valley City, UT

7:11 am MDT, Mar 18, 2020 · · 6.9 km deep · released about 920 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salt Lake County 18 kmDavis County 31 kmMorgan County 57 kmWeber County 59 kmUtah County 80 kmTooele County 92 kmWasatch County 93 kmSummit County 96 kmCache County 112 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
7:11 am MDT on 18 March 2020 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north of Magna, UT · earthquakes near Magna
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
6.9 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Salt Lake County, 18 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
West Valley fault, 8 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2352 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 36 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Magna, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Magna 6 km, intensity III · West Valley City 12 km, intensity III · Kearns 15 km, intensity III · Taylorsville 17 km, intensity II · Salt Lake City 18 km, intensity II · Millcreek 21 km, intensity II · Murray 21 km, intensity II · West Jordan 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 920 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 920 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.7 on 2020-03-18 — about 12,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 26 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 1 km NE of Magna, Utah · 5 km SSE 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 40.7645, -112.1022. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salt Lake County, UT 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Salt Lake County
Davis County, UT 31 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Davis County
Morgan County, UT 57 km (35 mi) NE earthquakes near Morgan County
Weber County, UT 59 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Weber County
Utah County, UT 80 km (50 mi) SSE earthquakes near Utah County
Tooele County, UT 92 km (57 mi) WSW earthquakes near Tooele County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 Utah
  2. 1.8 6 km NE of Magna, Utah
  3. 1.6 7 km NE of Magna, Utah
  4. 1.7 5 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  5. 2.0 6 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  6. 2.7 7 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  7. 3.0 5 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  8. 3.4 2 km NE of Magna, Utah
  9. 3.4 5 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  10. 2.3 6 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  11. 4.6 6 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  12. 1.8 7 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  13. 2.5 1 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  14. 1.7 8 km N of Magna, Utah
  15. 1.6 0 km SE of Magna, 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.