QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Fairview, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairview in the 24 hours to 4:21 am MST (11:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 9 km (5 mi) SSE, at 5:07 pm MDT on 12 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fairview

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) east of Fairview, UT, at 12:49 pm MDT on 31 August 2021 (18:49 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 12 km E of Fairview, Utah

12:49 pm MDT, Aug 31, 2021 · · -3.4 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanpete County 38 kmCarbon County 61 kmUtah County 62 kmWasatch County 79 kmEmery County 86 kmDuchesne County 104 kmSevier County 108 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
12:49 pm MDT on 31 August 2021 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) east of Fairview, UT · earthquakes near Fairview
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-3.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanpete County, 38 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1900 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairview, 12 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mount Pleasant, Spring City, Moroni, Fountain Green.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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. 5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 49 km W 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 39.6353, -111.2990. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanpete County, UT 38 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Sanpete County
Carbon County, UT 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Carbon County
Utah County, UT 62 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Utah County
Wasatch County, UT 79 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Wasatch County
Emery County, UT 86 km (53 mi) SE earthquakes near Emery County
Duchesne County, UT 104 km (65 mi) NE earthquakes near Duchesne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km NNE of Clear Creek, Utah
  2. 1.8 6 km SW of Hiawatha, Utah
  3. 1.6 8 km N of Helper, Utah
  4. 2.1 5 km N of Kenilworth, Utah
  5. 2.2 10 km ESE of Fairview, Utah
  6. 1.6 18 km W of Hiawatha, Utah
  7. 1.9 19 km W of Hiawatha, Utah
  8. 2.1 13 km NW of Orangeville, Utah
  9. 1.8 13 km NW of Orangeville, Utah
  10. 1.6 11 km WNW of Hiawatha, Utah
  11. 1.5 8 km NNE of Fountain Green, Utah
  12. 1.7 8 km NW of Helper, Utah
  13. 1.6 3 km N of Kenilworth, Utah
  14. 1.5 28 km ESE of Mapleton, Utah
  15. 2.4 28 km ESE of Mapleton, 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.