Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Benson, UT
No earthquake was likely felt in Benson in the 24 hours to 7:47 pm MST (02:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 79 km (49 mi) NNE, at 5:05 am MDT on 15 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 29 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Benson
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Benson, UT, at 11:35 pm MST on 2 January 2023 (06:35 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km NNW of Benson, Utah
12 km (7 mi) NW of Logan, UT · 115 km (72 mi) N of Salt Lake City, UT
- When
- 11:35 pm MST on 2 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Benson, UT · earthquakes near Benson
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Cache County, 19 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- West Cache fault, 5 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 1341 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Benson, UT
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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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Benson, 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: Logan 13 km, intensity II · North Logan 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 8 km W of Garden City, Utah · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.2 16 km ENE of North Logan, Utah · 27 km E of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km S of Richmond, Utah · 14 km NE 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 41.8135, -111.9472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cache County, UT | 19 km (12 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Cache County |
| Franklin County, ID | 41 km (26 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Weber County, UT | 61 km (38 mi) | S | earthquakes near Weber County |
| Rich County, UT | 62 km (39 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Rich County |
| Oneida County, ID | 63 km (39 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Oneida County |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 73 km (46 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Bear Lake County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 6 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.8 6 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.7 7 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.5 8 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.9 6 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.4 6 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.5 8 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.2 7 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.9 7 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.8 7 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.3 7 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 2.0 7 km SW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.9 8 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.5 9 km WSW of Clifton, Idaho
- 1.6 7 km WSW of Thatcher, 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.