QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Washington, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Washington in the 24 hours to 3:39 pm MST (22:39 UTC). The last one was M 1.5, 3 km (2 mi) N, at 1:53 am MDT on 31 July 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Washington

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Washington, UT, at 5:53 pm MDT on 29 March 2018 (23:53 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Washington, Utah

12 km (7 mi) ENE of St. George, UT

5:53 pm MDT, Mar 29, 2018 · · 14 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Washington Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 16 kmIron County 89 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
5:53 pm MDT on 29 March 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Washington, UT · earthquakes near Washington
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washington County, 16 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Washington fault, 4 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 3150 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Washington, 5 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.

Likely felt in: Saint George 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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. 6.3 Near Pine Valley, Utah · 31 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 3 km SSE of Washington, Utah · 4 km WSW 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 37.1212, -113.4558. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, UT 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Washington County
Iron County, UT 89 km (55 mi) N earthquakes near Iron County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 34 km S of Saint George, Utah
  2. 1.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  3. 1.6 16 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  4. 1.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  5. 1.7 17 km NW of Veyo, Utah
  6. 1.5 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  7. 1.8 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  8. 3.0 18 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  9. 1.9 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  10. 1.8 Utah
  11. 3.1 19 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  12. 2.6 17 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  13. 1.8 16 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  14. 2.3 2 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  15. 1.7 6 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona

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.