QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Monroe, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Monroe in the 24 hours to 5:27 pm MST (00:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 41 km (25 mi) SSW, at 10:44 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Monroe

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south of Monroe, UT, at 3:31 am MDT on 20 March 2021 (09:31 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 12 km N of Antimony, Utah

3:31 am MDT, Mar 20, 2021 · · 16 km deep · released about 22 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Piute County 15 kmSevier County 60 kmGarfield County 67 kmWayne County 90 kmBeaver County 107 kmKane County 108 kmIron County 118 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
3:31 am MDT on 20 March 2021 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south of Monroe, UT · earthquakes near Monroe
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Piute County, 15 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2061 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Monroe, 45 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 22 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 680,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 480,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 43× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 22 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2020-10-03 — about 5,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.6 Near Marysvale, Utah · 44 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 10 km NE of Marysvale, Utah · 33 km NNW 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 38.2302, -112.0247. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Piute County, UT 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Piute County
Sevier County, UT 60 km (38 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sevier County
Garfield County, UT 67 km (42 mi) SE earthquakes near Garfield County
Wayne County, UT 90 km (56 mi) E earthquakes near Wayne County
Beaver County, UT 107 km (66 mi) W earthquakes near Beaver County
Kane County, UT 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Kane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7 km SSE of Joseph, Utah
  2. 2.2 4 km S of Joseph, Utah
  3. 1.9 5 km S of Joseph, Utah
  4. 1.9 5 km S of Joseph, Utah
  5. 2.7 4 km S of Joseph, Utah
  6. 1.9 7 km S of Joseph, Utah
  7. 2.0 8 km S of Joseph, Utah
  8. 1.5 8 km S of Joseph, Utah
  9. 2.2 7 km S of Joseph, Utah
  10. 1.7 10 km SSW of Joseph, Utah
  11. 1.5 9 km N of Marysvale, Utah
  12. 3.5 5 km S of Joseph, Utah
  13. 2.4 7 km S of Joseph, Utah
  14. 2.3 6 km S of Joseph, Utah
  15. 2.2 6 km S of Joseph, 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.