QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Ephraim, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Ephraim in the 24 hours to 4:51 pm MST (23:51 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (7 mi) S, at 2:29 am MDT on 22 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ephraim

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) west-northwest of Ephraim, UT, at 12:38 pm MDT on 22 October 2021 (18:38 UTC), 4.3 km deep.

USGS: 15 km SW of Levan, Utah

12:38 pm MDT, Oct 22, 2021 · · 4.3 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanpete County 34 kmJuab County 77 kmSevier County 79 kmUtah County 79 kmMillard County 114 kmEmery County 118 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
12:38 pm MDT on 22 October 2021 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) west-northwest of Ephraim, UT · earthquakes near Ephraim
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
4.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanpete County, 34 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Wasatch fault, 5 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 1847 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Ephraim, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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:

  1. 5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 29 km NNE 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 39.4437, -111.9647. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanpete County, UT 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sanpete County
Juab County, UT 77 km (48 mi) WNW earthquakes near Juab County
Sevier County, UT 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Sevier County
Utah County, UT 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Utah County
Millard County, UT 114 km (71 mi) WSW earthquakes near Millard County
Emery County, UT 118 km (73 mi) ESE earthquakes near Emery County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 10 km NW of Fayette, Utah
  2. 1.5 8 km NNE of Fountain Green, Utah
  3. 1.8 11 km S of Levan, Utah
  4. 2.9 11 km WSW of Levan, Utah
  5. 1.6 11 km ESE of Holden, Utah
  6. 1.6 5 km WNW of Scipio, Utah
  7. 1.7 16 km N of Fayette, Utah
  8. 1.6 16 km N of Fayette, Utah
  9. 1.9 16 km N of Fayette, Utah
  10. 1.7 15 km N of Fayette, Utah
  11. 1.7 9 km NNW of Fayette, Utah
  12. 1.6 4 km WNW of Centerfield, Utah
  13. 1.7 7 km NNE of Moroni, Utah
  14. 2.1 8 km NNW of Fayette, Utah
  15. 1.7 8 km ENE of Ephraim, 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.