QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Provo, UT

USGS: 12 km SE of Independence, Utah

41 km (26 mi) E of Provo, UT

7:30 pm MDT, May 14, 2020 · · 6.9 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Provo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Wasatch County 13 kmUtah County 45 kmDuchesne County 62 kmSummit County 75 kmCarbon County 78 kmSalt Lake County 82 kmSanpete County 100 kmMorgan County 103 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
7:30 pm MDT on 14 May 2020 ()
Where
43 km (26 mi) E of Provo, UT · earthquakes near Provo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Wasatch County, 13 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Strawberry fault, 2 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 2332 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 43 km (26 mi) E of Provo, UT, at 7:30 pm MDT on 14 May 2020 (01:30 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 40.2173, -111.1577. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Wasatch County, UT 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Wasatch County
Utah County, UT 45 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Utah County
Duchesne County, UT 62 km (39 mi) E earthquakes near Duchesne County
Summit County, UT 75 km (46 mi) NNE earthquakes near Summit County
Carbon County, UT 78 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near Carbon County
Salt Lake County, UT 82 km (51 mi) NW earthquakes near Salt Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 19 km E of Independence, Utah
  2. 1.9 20 km E of Independence, Utah
  3. 1.8 5 km E of Heber City, Utah
  4. 2.5 8 km SSE of Woodland Hills, Utah
  5. 1.9 26 km S of Independence, Utah
  6. 1.9 24 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  7. 2.4 24 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  8. 1.8 25 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  9. 2.2 25 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  10. 1.5 24 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  11. 2.0 25 km SSE of Independence, Utah
  12. 1.8 6 km ESE of Daniel, Utah
  13. 2.8 6 km WNW of Independence, Utah
  14. 1.9 9 km W of Independence, Utah
  15. 1.6 7 km SSE of Wallsburg, 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.