Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Ephraim, UT
No earthquake was likely felt in Ephraim in the 24 hours to 1:34 pm MST (20:34 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (7 mi) S, at 2:29 am MDT on 22 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ephraim
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) west of Ephraim, UT, at 3:49 am MDT on 16 September 2023 (09:49 UTC), 6.6 km deep.
USGS: 16 km N of Fayette, Utah
98 km (61 mi) S of Provo, UT
- When
- 3:49 am MDT on 16 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 20 km (13 mi) west of Ephraim, UT · earthquakes near Ephraim
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Sanpete County, 21 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wasatch 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 1152 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ephraim, UT
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ephraim, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Ephraim, 20 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: Manti, Gunnison, Moroni, Centerfield.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 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:
- 5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 36 km N 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 39.3727, -111.8232. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanpete County, UT | 21 km (13 mi) | E | earthquakes near Sanpete County |
| Sevier County, UT | 70 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sevier County |
| Utah County, UT | 84 km (52 mi) | N | earthquakes near Utah County |
| Juab County, UT | 91 km (57 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Juab County |
| Emery County, UT | 103 km (64 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Emery County |
| Carbon County, UT | 111 km (69 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Carbon County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 9 km NNE of Scipio, Utah
- 1.8 17 km ESE of Holden, Utah
- 1.7 21 km WNW of Emery, Utah
- 2.3 12 km NW of Fayette, Utah
- 1.8 8 km SW of Levan, Utah
- 1.6 18 km NNW of Fayette, Utah
- 2.0 9 km NNE of Scipio, Utah
- 2.3 22 km ESE of Mayfield, Utah
- 1.7 4 km SSE of Fairview, Utah
- 1.6 17 km SSW of Levan, Utah
- 1.5 4 km SW of Centerfield, Utah
- 2.1 4 km WSW of Mount Pleasant, Utah
- 1.6 17 km N of Fayette, Utah
- 1.9 12 km N of Scipio, Utah
- 1.8 9 km NNE of Fayette, 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.