QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

Earthquake near Springville, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Springville in the 24 hours to 9:40 am MST (16:40 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 38 km (24 mi) NW, at 12:53 pm MST on 5 February 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2,906 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Springville

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) east-northeast of Springville, UT, at 8:05 am MST on 17 December 2018 (15:05 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 18 km ESE of Independence, Utah

94 km (58 mi) SE of Salt Lake City, UT · 51 km (32 mi) E of Provo, UT

8:05 am MST, Dec 17, 2018 · · 14 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Wasatch County 12 kmDuchesne County 52 kmUtah County 55 kmSummit County 68 kmCarbon County 77 kmSalt Lake County 87 kmMorgan County 102 kmSanpete County 109 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
8:05 am MST on 17 December 2018 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) east-northeast of Springville, UT · earthquakes near Springville
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Wasatch County, 12 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Strawberry fault, 7 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 2888 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Springville, 49 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 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-05-25 — about 390 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 40.2668, -111.0443. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Wasatch County, UT 12 km (8 mi) NW earthquakes near Wasatch County
Duchesne County, UT 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Duchesne County
Utah County, UT 55 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Utah County
Summit County, UT 68 km (42 mi) N earthquakes near Summit County
Carbon County, UT 77 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carbon County
Salt Lake County, UT 87 km (54 mi) WNW earthquakes near Salt Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 6 km ESE of Daniel, Utah
  2. 2.8 6 km WNW of Independence, Utah
  3. 1.9 9 km W of Independence, Utah
  4. 1.6 7 km SSE of Wallsburg, Utah
  5. 2.3 4 km WNW of Independence, Utah
  6. 2.3 6 km SSW of Wallsburg, Utah
  7. 3.9 4 km WNW of Independence, Utah
  8. 1.6 25 km NW of Tabiona, Utah
  9. 1.6 5 km SSE of Hideout, Utah
  10. 1.8 6 km SSE of Hideout, Utah
  11. 2.0 24 km NW of Tabiona, Utah
  12. 1.7 5 km W of Wallsburg, Utah
  13. 2.7 15 km E of Independence, Utah
  14. 2.7 Utah
  15. 1.5 28 km ESE 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.