QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5ml

47 km SW of Howell, Utah

Yes. A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 47 km SW of Howell, Utah, at 1:20 pm MDT on 6 April 2021 (19:20 UTC), 11 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 11 km deep · released about 2.3 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Box Elder County 20 kmDavis County 77 kmOneida County 80 kmWeber County 87 kmCache County 97 kmCassia County 106 kmFranklin County 114 kmMorgan County 117 kmTooele 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
Magnitude
M 3.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Box Elder County, 20 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Great Salt Lake fault, 4 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 272 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 60 km (37 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,300× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.9× more

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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.6 The 1934 Hansel Valley, Utah Earthquake · 17 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 35 km SSW of Howell, Utah · 16 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Hansel Valley, Utah · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 56 km SW of Howell, Utah · 11 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 27 km SW of Thatcher, Utah · 31 km E 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 41.5113, -112.8682. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Box Elder County, UT 20 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Box Elder County
Davis County, UT 77 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near Davis County
Oneida County, ID 80 km (50 mi) NNE earthquakes near Oneida County
Weber County, UT 87 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Weber County
Cache County, UT 97 km (60 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cache County
Cassia County, ID 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Cassia County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 Utah
  2. 1.6 70 km W of Hooper, Utah
  3. 1.6 46 km SW of Howell, Utah
  4. 1.8 Utah
  5. 2.1 70 km NW of Grantsville, Utah
  6. 2.0 Utah
  7. 2.1 2 km SSW of Howell, Utah
  8. 2.1 86 km E of Montello, Nevada
  9. 1.5 58 km W of Hooper, Utah
  10. 1.6 14 km WNW of Howell, Utah
  11. 1.7 24 km SSW of Snowville, Utah
  12. 2.0 67 km W of Hooper, Utah
  13. 1.9 65 km W of Hooper, Utah
  14. 2.0 19 km S of Snowville, Utah
  15. 1.8 66 km W of Hooper, 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.