Earthquake near Ephraim, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Ephraim in the 24 hours to 2:25 pm MST (21:25 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (7 mi) S, at 2:29 am MDT on 22 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ephraim

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) west of Ephraim, UT, at 1:40 pm MDT on 26 September 2020 (19:40 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 12 km N of Scipio, Utah

1:40 pm MDT, Sep 26, 2020 · 2020-09-26 19:40 UTC · 11 km deep · released about 7.3 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: 1:40 pm MDT on 26 September 2020 (2020-09-26 19:40 UTC)
Where: 44 km (28 mi) west of Ephraim, UT · earthquakes near Ephraim
Magnitude: M 1.6 (ml)
Depth: 11 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Sanpete County, 45 km E
Nearest mapped fault: Little Valley faults, 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2236 days ago · we first saw it 2236 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Ephraim, 44 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 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 · 42 km NNE 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	45 km (28 mi)	E	earthquakes near Sanpete County
Juab County, UT	71 km (44 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Juab County
Sevier County, UT	73 km (45 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Sevier County
Utah County, UT	92 km (57 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Utah County
Millard County, UT	100 km (62 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Millard County
Piute County, UT	114 km (71 mi)	S	earthquakes near Piute County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 21:25 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.