QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Orem, UT

USGS: 12 km SW of Charleston, Utah

17 km (11 mi) NNE of Provo, UT · 15 km (9 mi) NE of Orem, UT

5:31 pm MST, Nov 3, 2019 · · 10 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Utah County 31 kmWasatch County 35 kmSalt Lake County 44 kmSummit County 74 kmMorgan County 78 kmDavis County 90 kmDuchesne County 97 kmWeber County 102 kmSanpete County 113 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
5:31 pm MST on 3 November 2019 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) NE of Orem, UT · earthquakes near Orem
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Utah County, 31 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Wasatch fault, 11 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 2449 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) NE of Orem, UT, at 5:31 pm MST on 3 November 2019 (00:31 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Daniel, Midway, Cedar Hills, Vineyard.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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. 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 40 km NNW 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 40.3853, -111.5662. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Utah County, UT 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Utah County
Wasatch County, UT 35 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Wasatch County
Salt Lake County, UT 44 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near Salt Lake County
Summit County, UT 74 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near Summit County
Morgan County, UT 78 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Morgan County
Davis County, UT 90 km (56 mi) NW earthquakes near Davis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 9 km SE of Independence, Utah
  2. 1.5 26 km S of Independence, Utah
  3. 1.6 7 km W of Independence, Utah
  4. 1.8 1 km WSW of Payson, Utah
  5. 2.4 0 km WSW of Payson, Utah
  6. 1.9 1 km W of Payson, Utah
  7. 1.5 11 km ESE of Woodland, 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.