QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Ephraim, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Ephraim in the 24 hours to 11:08 am MST (18:08 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Ephraim, UT, at 6:12 pm MST on 4 January 2024 (01:12 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 11 km S of Levan, Utah

6:12 pm MST, Jan 4, 2024 · · 13 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sanpete County 26 kmUtah County 76 kmSevier County 79 kmJuab County 85 kmEmery County 110 kmCarbon County 112 kmWasatch County 115 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
6:12 pm MST on 4 January 2024 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Ephraim, UT · earthquakes near Ephraim
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sanpete County, 26 km ESE
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 1042 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Ephraim, 26 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: Moroni, Fountain Green, Manti, Nephi.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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:

  1. 5.0 3 km WSW of Nephi, Utah · 27 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 39.4518, -111.8623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sanpete County, UT 26 km (16 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sanpete County
Utah County, UT 76 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Utah County
Sevier County, UT 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Sevier County
Juab County, UT 85 km (53 mi) WNW earthquakes near Juab County
Emery County, UT 110 km (68 mi) ESE earthquakes near Emery County
Carbon County, UT 112 km (70 mi) ENE earthquakes near Carbon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 18 km NNW of Fayette, Utah
  2. 2.2 18 km E of Mayfield, Utah
  3. 1.9 5 km ENE of Sterling, Utah
  4. 1.5 14 km E of Ephraim, Utah
  5. 1.5 17 km N of Fayette, Utah
  6. 1.6 19 km SW of Levan, Utah
  7. 3.0 9 km NNE of Scipio, Utah
  8. 1.5 9 km NNE of Scipio, Utah
  9. 2.3 12 km NW of Fayette, Utah
  10. 1.8 8 km SW of Levan, Utah
  11. 1.6 18 km NNW of Fayette, Utah
  12. 2.0 9 km NNE of Scipio, Utah
  13. 1.7 4 km SSE of Fairview, Utah
  14. 1.6 17 km SSW of Levan, Utah
  15. 1.5 4 km SW of Centerfield, 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.