Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Orem, UT
USGS: 5 km WNW of Wallsburg, Utah
22 km (14 mi) NE of Provo, UT · 22 km (14 mi) ENE of Orem, UT
- When
- 10:43 pm MST on 3 February 2016 ()
- Where
- 22 km (13 mi) ENE of Orem, UT · earthquakes near Orem
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Wasatch County, 28 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wasatch fault, 18 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 3893 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) ENE of Orem, UT, at 10:43 pm MST on 3 February 2016 (05:43 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Daniel, Midway, Heber City, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Cedar Hills.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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:
- 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 43 km NW 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 40.4003, -111.4797. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wasatch County, UT | 28 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Wasatch County |
| Utah County, UT | 35 km (22 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Utah County |
| Salt Lake County, UT | 48 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Salt Lake County |
| Summit County, UT | 68 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Summit County |
| Morgan County, UT | 77 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Morgan County |
| Duchesne County, UT | 90 km (56 mi) | E | earthquakes near Duchesne 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.
- 1.6 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.6 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.7 1 km SE of Bluffdale, Utah
- 3.1 1 km SSW of Bluffdale, Utah
- 2.5 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 2.2 1 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.7 0 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.9 1 km SSW of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.6 11 km WSW of Vineyard, Utah
- 1.8 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.6 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.6 1 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.9 1 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.6 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
- 1.8 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, 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.