M2.8 earthquake 8 km SSW of Joseph, Utah

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck 8 km SSW of Joseph, Utah on Thu, Dec 20, 2018, 10:01 PM MST (05:01 UTC), 3 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.3 9 km SSW of Kanosh, Utah. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
2.84	ML, local (Richter)	University of Utah Seismograph Stations	Preferred · Final · ±0.129 · 12 stations
2.8	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.129 · 12 stations

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

4 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 81 in the 60 days after this one and 10 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 81.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event uu60307772 (also filed as us2000ivti). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC.