QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near North Salt Lake, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in North Salt Lake in the 24 hours to 11:39 am MST (18:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 17 km (11 mi) SW, at 6:32 pm MST on 13 February 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 4,122 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near North Salt Lake

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.9 quarry blast was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of North Salt Lake, UT, at 3:54 pm MST on 8 March 2022 (22:54 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km SSE of North Salt Lake, Utah

6 km (4 mi) NNE of Salt Lake City, UT

3:54 pm MST, Mar 8, 2022 · · -2.0 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salt Lake County 18 kmDavis County 35 kmMorgan County 40 kmWeber County 49 kmSummit County 78 kmUtah County 81 kmWasatch County 83 kmCache County 102 kmRich County 105 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
3:54 pm MST on 8 March 2022 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of North Salt Lake, UT · earthquakes near North Salt Lake
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
-2.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Salt Lake County, 18 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Wasatch fault, 2 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 1708 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In North Salt Lake, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Bountiful 7 km, intensity II · Salt Lake City 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 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 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 5.7 on 2020-03-18 — about 600,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.3 Near Salt Lake City, Utah · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 1 km NE of Magna, Utah · 20 km SW 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 40.8265, -111.8940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salt Lake County, UT 18 km (11 mi) S earthquakes near Salt Lake County
Davis County, UT 35 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Davis County
Morgan County, UT 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Morgan County
Weber County, UT 49 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Weber County
Summit County, UT 78 km (48 mi) E earthquakes near Summit County
Utah County, UT 81 km (50 mi) SSE earthquakes near Utah County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 5 km SSE of Hideout, Utah
  2. 1.5 6 km NE of Magna, Utah
  3. 2.1 5 km SE of Snowbird, Utah
  4. 2.6 15 km NNW of Summit Park, Utah
  5. 1.7 14 km N of Henefer, Utah
  6. 1.7 5 km ENE of Magna, Utah
  7. 2.5 5 km ENE of Magna, Utah
  8. 1.6 13 km SSE of Morgan, Utah
  9. 2.3 3 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  10. 1.6 3 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  11. 1.5 3 km S of Bluffdale, Utah
  12. 1.6 8 km NE of Morgan, Utah
  13. 1.8 7 km NE of Morgan, Utah
  14. 2.0 2 km SSE of Bingham Canyon, Utah
  15. 1.6 5 km ENE of Magna, 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.