As early as 1883, eminent geologist G.K. Gilbert recognized and warned of the serious earthquake threat posed by the Wasatch fault and other active faults in Utah despite the absence, up to the time, of any large earthquakes in the region since settlement by Mormon pioneers in 1847.

The Wasatch Front area is a classic example of a seismically active region having only moderate historical seismicity but high catastrophic potential from future large earthquakes. Devastation caused by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Armenia on December 7, 1988, gives a real-world lesson for such situations. The high death toll of at least 30,000 people in the Armenian earthquake, due primarily to the collapse of modern buildings, emphasizes the price for not heeding the threat of infrequent large earthquakes. According to Peter Yanev (an American earthquake engineering specialist), "Rarely has the importance of systematic risk identification and proper seismic design and construction in earthquake-prone areas been more apparent (than in the Armenian earthquake)" (EPRI Journal, June 1989, p. 24).

Seismologists, geologists, and engineers are in fundamental agreement about technical details of the earthquake threat in Utah - where, how big, how often, and what's going to happen. That consensus was arrived at as part of a special five-year focus (1983-1988) on the Wasatch Front region under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

Need more information? Contact these agencies in Utah and the United States.

Utah Seismicity at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.

Recent Earthquakes in Utah.