QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Magna, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Magna in the 24 hours to 7:08 am MST (14:08 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (3 mi) ENE, at 8:46 am MDT on 17 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 28 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Magna

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north of Magna, UT, at 12:16 pm MDT on 19 March 2020 (18:16 UTC), 11 km deep. 164 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km N of Magna, Utah

8 km (5 mi) WNW of West Valley City, UT

12:16 pm MDT, Mar 19, 2020 · · 11 km deep · released about 400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Magna Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salt Lake County 16 kmDavis County 36 kmMorgan County 59 kmWeber County 63 kmUtah County 77 kmWasatch County 90 kmTooele County 91 kmSummit County 96 kmCache County 116 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 MDT on 19 March 2020 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) north of Magna, UT · earthquakes near Magna
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
164 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Salt Lake County, 16 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
West Valley fault, 8 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 2351 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Magna, 2 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Magna 2 km, intensity III · West Valley City 9 km, intensity II · Kearns 11 km, intensity II · Taylorsville 15 km, intensity II · Salt Lake City 18 km, intensity II · West Jordan 19 km, intensity II · Murray 19 km, intensity II · Millcreek 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 5.7 on 2020-03-18 — about 27,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 25 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 1 km NE of Magna, Utah · 1 km SE 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 40.7278, -112.0975. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salt Lake County, UT 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Salt Lake County
Davis County, UT 36 km (22 mi) NNW earthquakes near Davis County
Morgan County, UT 59 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Morgan County
Weber County, UT 63 km (39 mi) NNE earthquakes near Weber County
Utah County, UT 77 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Utah County
Wasatch County, UT 90 km (56 mi) ESE earthquakes near Wasatch County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 6 km W of Salt Lake City, Utah
  2. 1.9 Utah
  3. 2.1 6 km N of Magna, Utah
  4. 2.3 7 km W of Salt Lake City, Utah
  5. 1.6 5 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  6. 2.1 6 km ENE of Magna, Utah
  7. 1.7 8 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  8. 1.7 6 km W of Salt Lake City, Utah
  9. 2.1 5 km ENE of Magna, Utah
  10. 2.1 8 km NE of Magna, Utah
  11. 3.1 9 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  12. 2.0 8 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  13. 2.3 6 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  14. 1.5 9 km NNE of Magna, Utah
  15. 1.9 5 km NE of Magna, 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.