The strongest earthquake to strike the Salt Lake Valley since the city's founding, marking the region's most significant seismic event in nearly three decades.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 5.7 Mw
- Date and time
- March 18, 2020, 7:09 a.m. MDT
- Epicenter distance from Magna
- 6 km north-northeast of Magna, Utah
- Previous comparable event
- 1962 magnitude 5.0 earthquake near Magna
- Strongest Utah quake since
- 1992 St. George earthquake
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Salt Lake Valley sits atop active fault systems in a seismically active region of the Intermountain West. The area had not experienced a major earthquake since the city's founding, though fault activity in the region had long been considered a significant geological hazard.
On March 18, 2020, at 7:09 a.m. MDT, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck with its epicenter approximately 6 km north-northeast of Magna, Utah, beneath the planned Utah Inland Port site. It was the first major earthquake to hit the Salt Lake Valley since the city's founding and the strongest in Utah since the 1992 St. George earthquake.
The earthquake marked a historic seismic milestone for Salt Lake City, occurring during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which complicated emergency response. It renewed public attention to earthquake preparedness in the region and highlighted the seismic risk posed by active fault systems beneath the Salt Lake Valley.