QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

28 km SE of Mapleton, UT

Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 28 km SE of Mapleton, UT, 41 km (26 mi) SE of Provo, UT, at 2:41 pm MST on 16 November 2020 (21:41 UTC), 20 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

41 km (26 mi) SE of Provo, UT

· 20 km deep · released about 610 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Utah County 34 kmWasatch County 42 kmSanpete County 70 kmCarbon County 71 kmDuchesne County 83 kmSalt Lake County 93 kmSummit County 104 kmEmery 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
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Utah County, 34 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Strawberry fault, 15 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 2115 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Mapleton, Woodland Hills.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 610 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 25,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 610 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.

Where

Epicentre 39.9722, -111.3188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Utah County, UT 34 km (21 mi) WNW earthquakes near Utah County
Wasatch County, UT 42 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wasatch County
Sanpete County, UT 70 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sanpete County
Carbon County, UT 71 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carbon County
Duchesne County, UT 83 km (52 mi) ENE earthquakes near Duchesne County
Salt Lake County, UT 93 km (58 mi) NNW earthquakes near Salt Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 Utah
  2. 1.5 28 km ESE of Mapleton, Utah
  3. 2.4 28 km ESE of Mapleton, Utah
  4. 1.7 28 km ESE of Mapleton, Utah
  5. 1.6 10 km ESE of Fairview, Utah
  6. 1.7 7 km NNE of Moroni, Utah
  7. 1.7 8 km NNW of Helper, Utah
  8. 1.6 11 km W of Clear Creek, Utah
  9. 1.9 3 km NNE of Mount Pleasant, Utah
  10. 1.8 Utah
  11. 1.8 3 km N of Mount Pleasant, Utah
  12. 2.6 3 km N of Mount Pleasant, Utah
  13. 2.7 3 km N of Mount Pleasant, Utah
  14. 1.6 20 km E of Mapleton, Utah
  15. 1.9 19 km E of Mapleton, 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.