QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Herriman, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Herriman in the 24 hours to 11:50 am MST (18:50 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 10 km (6 mi) W, at 3:23 pm MDT on 16 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Herriman

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.5 quarry blast was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west of Herriman, UT, at 4:47 pm MDT on 15 September 2016 (22:47 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SSW of Bingham Canyon, Utah

16 km (10 mi) SW of West Jordan, UT · 12 km (7 mi) WNW of Herriman, UT

4:47 pm MDT, Sep 15, 2016 · · -2.0 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salt Lake County 25 kmDavis County 57 kmUtah County 61 kmMorgan County 80 kmTooele County 82 kmWeber County 86 kmWasatch County 87 kmJuab County 105 kmSummit County 107 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
4:47 pm MDT on 15 September 2016 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) west of Herriman, UT · earthquakes near Herriman
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
-2.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Salt Lake County, 25 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Oquirrh 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 3710 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Herriman, 10 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: Herriman 10 km, intensity III · Tooele 12 km, intensity II · Riverton 18 km, intensity II · South Jordan 20 km, intensity II · Kearns 20 km, intensity II · West Jordan 21 km, intensity II · Magna 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 1 km NE of Magna, Utah · 23 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 40.5232, -112.1552. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salt Lake County, UT 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Salt Lake County
Davis County, UT 57 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Davis County
Utah County, UT 61 km (38 mi) SE earthquakes near Utah County
Morgan County, UT 80 km (50 mi) NE earthquakes near Morgan County
Tooele County, UT 82 km (51 mi) W earthquakes near Tooele County
Weber County, UT 86 km (54 mi) NNE earthquakes near Weber 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. 1.8 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  2. 1.5 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  3. 1.6 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, Utah
  4. 1.6 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, Utah
  5. 1.6 1 km SSE of Bluffdale, Utah
  6. 1.7 1 km SE of Bluffdale, Utah
  7. 3.1 1 km SSW of Bluffdale, Utah
  8. 2.5 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  9. 2.2 1 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  10. 1.7 0 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  11. 1.9 1 km SSW of Bluffdale, Utah
  12. 1.6 11 km WSW of Vineyard, Utah
  13. 1.8 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  14. 1.6 2 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  15. 1.6 1 km S 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.