A magnitude 3.1 earthquake that shook Utah on Wednesday (July 29) evening turned out to be something entirely different from a natural seismic event—it was an explosion at a mining site.
The blast, equivalent to roughly 1,500 pounds of TNT, occurred near Maeser in northeastern Utah, an area surrounded by thousands of mining operations and claims. Moments after the ground shook, reports began circulating on social media from residents who felt the tremor. However, data from the U.S. Geological Survey revealed the event was not a natural earthquake at all.
According to USGS data, the seismic event occurred at a depth of zero feet, a clear indication that the blast took place at the surface rather than deep underground where natural earthquakes typically originate. The shallow depth and the location near active mining operations confirmed that the tremor was caused by a controlled explosion rather than tectonic activity.
The Maeser area, located in Utah’s Uinta Basin, is home to 3,205 mines and mining claims, making industrial explosions a common occurrence in the region. These blasts are typically used to extract valuable minerals and resources from the earth.
While Wednesday’s mining explosion was unusual enough to register on seismic monitoring equipment, the Utah region has experienced genuine earthquake activity in recent weeks. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations recorded 96 earthquakes across the Utah region during a two-week period ending Monday (July 28), including a swarm of 22 earthquakes near Circleville in south-central Utah.
Those earthquakes ranged in magnitude from minus 0.1 to 3.5. The largest was a magnitude 3.5 earthquake recorded July 14 near Little America, Wyoming.
Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Utah confirmed the existence of rare deep earthquakes occurring far below the earth’s crust in the region. According to research published in scientific journals, these continental mantle earthquakes occur deep within Earth’s mantle, in environments characterized by extreme heat and pressure where rocks typically flow like taffy rather than fracture suddenly.
The University of Utah Seismograph Stations continues to monitor seismic activity throughout Utah and portions of neighboring states, maintaining decades of valuable seismic records for analysis.
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