Earthquake near Ephraim, UT

USGS: 19 km NNW of Fayette, Utah

98 km (61 mi) SSW of Provo, UT

8:26 am MDT, Aug 27, 2020 · 2020-08-27 14:26 UTC · 14 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ephraim Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 8:26 am MDT on 27 August 2020 (2020-08-27 14:26 UTC)
Where: 29 km (18 mi) W of Ephraim, UT · earthquakes near Ephraim
Magnitude: M 1.6 (ml)
Depth: 14 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Sanpete County, 30 km E
Nearest mapped fault: Wasatch fault, 2 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2227 days ago · we first saw it 2227 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) W of Ephraim, UT, at 8:26 am MDT on 27 August 2020 (14:26 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gunnison, Manti.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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:

5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 35 km N of this epicentre Jul 7, 1963

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Sanpete County, UT	30 km (18 mi)	E	earthquakes near Sanpete County
Sevier County, UT	72 km (45 mi)	S	earthquakes near Sevier County
Juab County, UT	83 km (51 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Juab County
Utah County, UT	84 km (52 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Utah County
Emery County, UT	112 km (69 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Emery County
Millard County, UT	115 km (71 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Millard County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.1 15 km NE of Leamington, Utah 21:37 UTC
2.2 9 km WSW of Mona, Utah 20:58 UTC
3.0 4 km ENE of Mount Pleasant, Utah 05:18 UTC
1.7 10 km NW of Fayette, Utah 09:51 UTC
1.5 15 km S of Levan, Utah 07:58 UTC
2.3 8 km NW of Fayette, Utah 20:10 UTC
1.8 8 km NW of Fayette, Utah 23:55 UTC
2.1 9 km WSW of Levan, Utah 13:54 UTC
1.6 12 km SW of Fayette, Utah 01:56 UTC
1.6 7 km N of Redmond, Utah 22:33 UTC
1.5 8 km NW of Fayette, Utah 19:27 UTC
1.6 17 km WNW of Levan, Utah 17:59 UTC
1.5 5 km ENE of Mayfield, Utah 12:34 UTC
1.6 12 km WSW of Levan, Utah 00:07 UTC
2.4 16 km SSW of Levan, Utah 11:32 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 04:02 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.