QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Cedar City, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Cedar City in the 24 hours to 6:51 am MST (13:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 10:46 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cedar City

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Cedar City, UT, at 1:39 am MDT on 16 October 2020 (07:39 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 10 km NW of Cedar City, Utah

82 km (51 mi) NNE of St. George, UT

1:39 am MDT, Oct 16, 2020 · · 0.8 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cedar City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Iron County 23 kmWashington County 60 kmBeaver County 69 kmPiute County 112 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
1:39 am MDT on 16 October 2020 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) northwest of Cedar City, UT · earthquakes near Cedar City
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
0.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Iron County, 23 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Cedar City-Parowan monocline (and faults), 11 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 2219 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Cedar City, 11 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.

Likely felt in: Cedar City 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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:

  1. 6.3 Near Pine Valley, Utah · 48 km SW 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 37.7388, -113.1598. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Iron County, UT 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Iron County
Washington County, UT 60 km (37 mi) SSW earthquakes near Washington County
Beaver County, UT 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Beaver County
Piute County, UT 112 km (70 mi) NE earthquakes near Piute County
Kane County, UT 129 km (80 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kane County
Sevier County, UT 163 km (101 mi) NE earthquakes near Sevier County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 13 km SSE of Kanarraville, Utah
  2. 1.6 10 km N of Enoch, Utah
  3. 1.5 7 km ESE of Kanarraville, Utah
  4. 1.8 8 km ENE of Kanarraville, Utah
  5. 1.8 11 km ESE of Paragonah, Utah
  6. 1.5 20 km WSW of Minersville, Utah
  7. 1.9 9 km S of Cedar City, Utah
  8. 1.6 11 km WNW of Kanarraville, Utah
  9. 1.7 12 km WNW of Kanarraville, Utah
  10. 1.8 12 km N of New Harmony, Utah
  11. 1.6 12 km N of New Harmony, Utah
  12. 2.0 12 km WNW of Kanarraville, Utah
  13. 1.5 12 km WNW of Kanarraville, Utah
  14. 1.5 15 km SE of Kanarraville, Utah
  15. 1.7 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.