QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Richfield, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Richfield in the 24 hours to 11:29 pm MST (06:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 34 km (21 mi) W, at 8:35 am MDT on 22 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Richfield

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Richfield, UT, at 12:16 pm MST on 9 January 2020 (19:16 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 16 km N of Koosharem, Utah

12:16 pm MST, Jan 9, 2020 · · 15 km deep · released about 26 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sevier County 11 kmPiute County 42 kmSanpete County 84 kmWayne County 88 kmGarfield County 98 kmEmery County 107 kmMillard County 115 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
12:16 pm MST on 9 January 2020 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) southeast of Richfield, UT · earthquakes near Richfield
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sevier County, 11 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Annabella graben faults, 17 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 2499 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Richfield, 23 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Monroe.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.6 Near Marysvale, Utah · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 0 km SSW of Central Valley, Utah · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 25 km SE of Salina, Utah · 29 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 10 km NE of Marysvale, Utah · 29 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 38.6538, -111.8645. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sevier County, UT 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sevier County
Piute County, UT 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Piute County
Sanpete County, UT 84 km (52 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sanpete County
Wayne County, UT 88 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Wayne County
Garfield County, UT 98 km (61 mi) SSE earthquakes near Garfield County
Emery County, UT 107 km (66 mi) ENE earthquakes near Emery 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. 1.8 5 km NW of Central Valley, Utah
  2. 1.5 25 km ESE of Salina, Utah
  3. 1.9 20 km SE of Mayfield, Utah
  4. 2.7 8 km SSE of Joseph, Utah
  5. 2.8 4 km SSE of Joseph, Utah
  6. 1.6 10 km ESE of Glenwood, Utah
  7. 1.7 28 km N of Fremont, Utah
  8. 2.8 4 km NW of Aurora, Utah
  9. 2.5 8 km N of Richfield, Utah
  10. 1.6 2 km SW of Elsinore, Utah
  11. 1.7 7 km W of Marysvale, Utah
  12. 3.0 3 km NNW of Central Valley, Utah
  13. 1.6 8 km WNW of Marysvale, Utah
  14. 1.9 12 km N of Antimony, Utah
  15. 1.8 26 km ESE of Salina, 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.