QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Cedar City, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Cedar City in the 24 hours to 5:01 am MST (12:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 16 km (10 mi) N, at 10:46 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cedar City

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) west of Cedar City, UT, at 5:20 am MST on 4 December 2024 (12:20 UTC), 3.0 km deep.

USGS: 16 km W of Cedar City, Utah

75 km (46 mi) NNE of St. George, UT

5:20 am MST, Dec 4, 2024 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Iron County 24 kmWashington County 53 kmBeaver County 74 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
5:20 am MST on 4 December 2024 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) west of Cedar City, UT · earthquakes near Cedar City
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Iron County, 24 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Hurricane fault, 16 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 709 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Cedar City, 16 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: Enoch.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 4.5 on 2024-07-29 — about 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 Near Pine Valley, Utah · 40 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 37.6952, -113.2447. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Iron County, UT 24 km (15 mi) NNW earthquakes near Iron County
Washington County, UT 53 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near Washington County
Beaver County, UT 74 km (46 mi) N earthquakes near Beaver County
Piute County, UT 121 km (75 mi) NE earthquakes near Piute 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. 1.8 11 km ENE of Kanarraville, Utah
  2. 2.0 12 km SSE of Cedar City, Utah
  3. 2.3 11 km ENE of Kanarraville, Utah
  4. 1.6 11 km ENE of Kanarraville, Utah
  5. 1.8 13 km NNW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  6. 2.5 4 km NW of Cedar City, Utah
  7. 1.9 12 km ENE of Kanarraville, Utah
  8. 1.5 11 km NNW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  9. 2.1 13 km NNW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  10. 1.9 8 km NW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  11. 1.6 1 km SSW of Newcastle, Utah
  12. 1.6 8 km NNE of Central, Utah
  13. 1.6 8 km NNE of Central, Utah
  14. 2.6 7 km NNE of Central, Utah
  15. 1.8 8 km NNE of Central, 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.