1992 St. George earthquake
# 1992 St. George earthquake

The 1992 St. George earthquake was a $M_w5.8$ earthquake that occurred on September 2, 1992 at approximately 4:26 AM MDT along the Washington Fault zone near the larger Hurricane Fault about 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of St. George in Utah, United States. The quake triggered a landslide that destroyed three houses and caused approximately US$1 million in structural and cosmetic damage to houses, roads, natural formations, and utilities. No people were killed by the quake.

## Earthquake

At 4:26 AM MDT on September 2, 1992, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred along the Washington Fault zone near the larger Hurricane Fault about 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of St. George in Utah, United States.

### Magnitude

Reports on the magnitude of the earthquake vary. The University of Utah reported the quake as a $M_w5.8$ in their official report via the Intermountain Seismic Belt Historical Earthquake Project, which is supported by a 1994 news article from the Deseret News and an official report from the Utah Geological Survey. A contemporaneous report from the journal Arizona Geology reported $M_w5.5$ from the University of Arizona and $M_w5.9$ from the USGS.

## Destruction

Most of the force of the earthquake was directed away from the city of St. George toward Hurricane and Springdale. In the Balanced Rock Hills area of Springdale, a landslide covered part of Utah State Route 9, taking several hours to complete movement. The slide was about 1,600 feet (490 m) long and 3,600 feet (1,100 m) wide, contained boulders up to 20 feet (6.1 m) in diameter, with a total volume of 18,000,000 cubic yards (14,000,000 $m^3)$ and total area of 4,400,400 square feet (408,810 $m^2).$ It destroyed three houses as well as above- and below-ground utilities, causing about US$1 million in damage.

