Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
28 km E of La Sal, Utah
Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 28 km E of La Sal, Utah, at 7:15 am MDT on 19 September 2021 (13:15 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Miguel County, 53 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1804 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Monticello, UT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Monticello, 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.
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.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2019-03-04 — about 4,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 38.2720, -108.9275. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Miguel County, CO | 53 km (33 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Miguel County |
| Montrose County, CO | 60 km (37 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Montrose County |
| Dolores County, CO | 70 km (44 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Dolores County |
| Mesa County, CO | 92 km (57 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Mesa County |
| Grand County, UT | 96 km (60 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Grand County |
| Ouray County, CO | 100 km (62 mi) | E | earthquakes near Ouray County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
6 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 26 km ESE of La Sal, Utah
- 2.0 29 km E of La Sal, Utah
- 1.6 28 km ESE of La Sal, Utah
- 2.1 28 km E of La Sal, Utah
- 2.2 28 km E of La Sal, Utah
- 2.0 28 km E of La Sal, 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.