Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
8 km NW of Helper, UT
Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 8 km NW of Helper, UT, at 12:22 pm MDT on 27 October 2020 (18:22 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- -3.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Carbon County, 28 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2134 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Helper, UT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Helper, UT. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Helper, Spring Glen, Carbonville, Price, Wellington.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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.
Where
Epicentre 39.7400, -110.9063. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, UT | 28 km (18 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Carbon County |
| Wasatch County, UT | 70 km (43 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Wasatch County |
| Sanpete County, UT | 70 km (44 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sanpete County |
| Duchesne County, UT | 73 km (46 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Duchesne County |
| Utah County, UT | 78 km (48 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Utah County |
| Emery County, UT | 83 km (51 mi) | S | earthquakes near Emery County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 3 km N of Mount Pleasant, Utah
- 1.7 4 km N of Kenilworth, Utah
- 1.7 5 km SW of Hiawatha, Utah
- 2.2 24 km ESE of Woodland Hills, Utah
- 1.5 17 km W of Hiawatha, Utah
- 3.0 4 km ENE of Mount Pleasant, Utah
- 1.5 7 km E of Mount Pleasant, Utah
- 2.1 9 km ENE of Fairview, Utah
- 1.9 7 km ENE of Kenilworth, Utah
- 1.5 10 km SW of Hiawatha, Utah
- 1.7 16 km E of Kenilworth, Utah
- 1.5 2 km NNE of Helper, Utah
- 1.7 4 km NNE of Helper, Utah
- 1.5 7 km WSW of Clear Creek, Utah
- 1.6 6 km N of Helper, 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
- 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.