September 29, 1921 Earthquake: Elsinore, Utah, United States
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Elsinore, Utah, United States on September 29, 1921 at 14:12 UTC.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 29, 1921
- Time
- 14:12 UTC
- Place
- Elsinore, Utah, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.700° N, 112.100° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Injuries
- 2
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Ref #542:
After about 2 weeks of light foreshocks at Elsinore, three damaging local earthquakes occurred: two on Sept. 29 (local time) and one on Sept. 30.
Considerable damage also occurred at the nearby towns of Joseph, Monroe, and Richfield. The shocks continued from Sept. 12 to Dec. 20, 1921.
At Monroe, about 8 km south of Elsinore, this earthquake was more destructive than the first shock on Sept. 29 at 14 12 UTC. Felt slightly at Joseph and Richfield.
The third destructive shock of this series of earthquakes at Elsinore downed chimneys that remained upright and caused additional structural damage. Heavy damage was sustained by buildings made of stone or "sun-dried brickn [adobe(?)]. Ten houses were wrecked and made uninhabitable.
Ref #12600:
There was widespread damage to buildings in the city of Elsinore
An Elsinore woman was injured from falling plaster when a chimney fell onto the roof.
Extensive damage occurred to buildings in Monroe.
Some damage was reported in Richfield, Central and Joseph, Utah. A Richfield man was injured when he was struck by chimney bricks that fell through a ceiling.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1921The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1921Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 10469.