These 6 Earthquakes Really Shook Up Utah Residents In The 20th Century
By Catherine Armstrong|Published April 17, 2020
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Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
Residents in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley woke up around 7:10 a.m. on March 18, 2020 to their homes shaking and rattling. A 5.7 magnitude earthquake caused bricks to fall off the storefronts of historic buildings in downtown Salt Lake City, and schools in West Valley City and Magna (the earthquake’s epicenter) suffered millions of dollars of damages. Since that original earthquake, northern Utah has sustained more than 700 aftershocks, some as strong as 4.6 magnitude.
While these events are definitely unsettling, they’re not the first to hit Utah since the Mormon pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. During the 20th century, residents of the Beehive State dealt with several earthquakes.
On the evening of November 13, 1901, a large earthquake shook the little town of Richfield and its surrounding area. The quake measured 6.5 magnitude, which is the second-largest ever measured in the Beehive State. Buildings were damaged in Richfield, Beaver and Elsinore, and people felt the shocks in Salt Lake City. The quake caused at least $100,000 in damage.
On November 17, 1902, residents in Pine Valley experienced a jarring earthquake that's believed to have registered over 6 magnitude. Most homes in the little town of Hebron were seriously damaged, and nearby St. George also suffered damage. Aftershocks continued for months into that winter.
On September 29th, 1921, residents in the Sevier Valley were rattled when a 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit. On October 1st, a second quake registering 6 was recorded. The rural little towns of Richfield, Monroe, and Elsinore reported significant damage to buildings, totaling about $100,000. Aftershocks continued all the way into December.
On March 12, 1934, the Hansel Valley, on the north end of the Great Salt Lake, was rocked by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in Utah. The towns of Snowville, Locomotive Springs, Hooper, Logan, and Kelton suffered severe damage. Kelton, now a ghost town, had to tear down what was left of its schoolhouse because the structure was too damaged to save.
The Cache Valley Earthquake occurred on August 30, 1962, and was a 5.7 magnitude quake. It was felt in three states: Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, and did approximately $1 million in damages.
The southern oasis of St. George was rattled on September 2, 1992 with a quake that registered a 5.8 magnitude. No one was killed, but three homes were destroyed, and quake trigged a huge landslide that covered 4,400,400 square feet and took out a portion of SR-9.
How are you coping with the continuing aftershocks of the March 18th earthquake? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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