QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Nephi, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Nephi in the 24 hours to 2:25 pm MST (21:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 10 km (6 mi) SW, at 10:00 pm MST on 1 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Nephi

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Nephi, UT, at 3:41 am MST on 8 December 2023 (10:41 UTC), 1.6 km deep.

USGS: 11 km WSW of Levan, Utah

3:41 am MST, Dec 8, 2023 · · 1.6 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanpete County 40 kmJuab County 71 kmUtah County 72 kmSevier County 88 kmWasatch County 114 kmMillard County 117 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
3:41 am MST on 8 December 2023 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) southwest of Nephi, UT · earthquakes near Nephi
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
1.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanpete County, 40 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Little Valley faults, 8 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 1006 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Nephi, 24 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 1 km SSW of Mount Nebo, Utah · 46 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 39.5275, -111.9950. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanpete County, UT 40 km (25 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sanpete County
Juab County, UT 71 km (44 mi) WNW earthquakes near Juab County
Utah County, UT 72 km (44 mi) NNE earthquakes near Utah County
Sevier County, UT 88 km (55 mi) S earthquakes near Sevier County
Wasatch County, UT 114 km (71 mi) NE earthquakes near Wasatch County
Millard County, UT 117 km (73 mi) WSW earthquakes near Millard 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 8 km E of Oak City, Utah
  2. 1.9 17 km ESE of Rocky Ridge, Utah
  3. 2.4 17 km ESE of Rocky Ridge, Utah
  4. 1.6 0 km SW of Centerfield, Utah
  5. 1.6 21 km NE of Leamington, Utah
  6. 1.8 21 km WNW of Levan, Utah
  7. 2.0 15 km NW of Fayette, Utah
  8. 1.6 15 km NW of Fayette, Utah
  9. 2.4 15 km NW of Fayette, Utah
  10. 2.3 10 km SW of Nephi, Utah
  11. 1.6 10 km SW of Nephi, Utah
  12. 1.6 1 km WSW of Fairview, Utah
  13. 1.6 10 km WNW of Fayette, Utah
  14. 1.9 2 km WSW of Fairview, Utah
  15. 1.6 19 km NE of Scipio, 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.