Earthquake Reported Near Zion National Park Has Travelers On Notice

An earthquake was reported near Zion National Park on Sunday evening.

A view of Zion National Park, which is part of \"a really iconic landscape\" in the Southwest that Steven Kannenberg, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Utah, said will be affected by the 'unprecedented' juniper tree dieback. Delgado Juniper 5956 / Anton L. Delgado via Imagn Content

Earthquakes are something that adventure seekers always need to be prepared for. Unlike some other phenomena, such as hurricanes, there is no specific season when people should be on higher alert for an earthquake.

Rain or shine, summer or winter, they can occur. Late Sunday evening, one was recorded by the University of Utah near Zion National Park.

The earthquake was measured by 4.5 magnitude, at around 11:30 p.m. in Kane County. Kane is located northeast of Zion National Park and is near Navajo Lake, just southwest.

12.2 miles, or 19.6 kilometers, was the measured depth of the earthquake’s epicenter. While an earthquake of that size isn’t considered massive or destructive, precautions still need to be taken. As shared by the Utah Division of Emergency Management on X, formerly Twitter, protective actions of drop, cover and hold on still should be done.

A magnitude 4.5 quake is likely not very destructive, but remember the protective action for earthquakes is Drop, Cover, and Hold on. https://t.co/Iakdo9rMG0 https://t.co/JEGspJ4IUI

— Utah Division of Emergency Management (Utah DEM) (@UtahEmergency) July 29, 2024

More than 2,100 people reported feeling the earthquake on Sunday night according to the Did You Feel It? webpage of the U.S. Geological Survey. Luckily, no severe damage or even injuries have been reported as a result of this quake.

If you have felt something and did not report it, the USGS is urging you to do so. A quick survey can be filled out so that they are as up-to-date on data and can keep as many people informed as to what is going on.

This was the second reported earthquake near Zion National Park this year. In February, a magnitude 3.5 quake occurred. Back in December 2023, another one was recorded. That had the highest magnitude of the three with a 3.9.

The quake near Zion National Park was the fifth in the continental United States and Canada over the weekend with a magnitude of at least 2.5. Despite it not being huge on the overall scale of things, it was by far the biggest as none of the others even reached 3.0.