QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Vernal, UT

No earthquake was likely felt in Vernal in the 24 hours to 6:58 pm MST (01:58 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:56 pm MDT on 29 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Vernal

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Vernal, UT, at 11:20 am MST on 9 November 2026 (18:20 UTC), 4.9 km deep.

USGS: 24 km NNE of Vernal, Utah

11:20 am MST, Nov 9, 2026 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Daggett County 27 kmUintah County 60 kmDuchesne County 95 kmMoffat County 102 kmUinta County 118 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:20 am MST on 9 November 2026 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Vernal, UT · earthquakes near Vernal
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
4.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Daggett County, 27 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Vernal, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Maeser, Naples.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 4.1 on 2025-09-10 — about 970 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 40.6597, -109.4227. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Daggett County, UT 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Daggett County
Uintah County, UT 60 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near Uintah County
Duchesne County, UT 95 km (59 mi) WSW earthquakes near Duchesne County
Moffat County, CO 102 km (63 mi) E earthquakes near Moffat County
Uinta County, WY 118 km (73 mi) NW earthquakes near Uinta County
Sweetwater County, WY 120 km (75 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sweetwater County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.