QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Cedar City, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Cedar City in the 24 hours to 3:55 am MST (10:55 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 10:46 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cedar City

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Cedar City, UT, at 10:14 pm MST on 29 December 2019 (05:14 UTC), 3.1 km deep.

USGS: 13 km SW of Hatch, Utah

10:14 pm MST, Dec 29, 2019 · · 3.1 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kane County 71 kmIron County 78 kmWashington County 91 kmPiute County 93 kmGarfield County 100 kmBeaver County 108 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
10:14 pm MST on 29 December 2019 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Cedar City, UT · earthquakes near Cedar City
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
3.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kane County, 71 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Sevier/Toroweap 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 2509 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Cedar City, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. 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 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 37.5617, -112.5340. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kane County, UT 71 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kane County
Iron County, UT 78 km (49 mi) WNW earthquakes near Iron County
Washington County, UT 91 km (56 mi) WSW earthquakes near Washington County
Piute County, UT 93 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Piute County
Garfield County, UT 100 km (62 mi) ENE earthquakes near Garfield County
Beaver County, UT 108 km (67 mi) NW earthquakes near Beaver County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10 km WSW of Alton, Utah
  2. 2.2 14 km W of Panguitch, Utah
  3. 2.6 15 km ESE of Paragonah, Utah
  4. 2.1 13 km ESE of Paragonah, Utah
  5. 2.3 15 km W of Panguitch, Utah
  6. 2.3 15 km W of Panguitch, Utah
  7. 1.8 14 km ESE of Paragonah, Utah
  8. 2.2 6 km SSE of Alton, Utah
  9. 1.9 15 km NW of Alton, Utah
  10. 2.0 5 km SE of Paragonah, Utah
  11. 1.6 10 km WNW of Glendale, Utah
  12. 2.0 9 km NNW of Hatch, Utah
  13. 1.6 4 km N of Hatch, Utah
  14. 1.7 9 km WNW of Alton, Utah
  15. 1.8 10 km SSW of Orderville, 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.