Wasatch Front Earthquakes

While most earthquakes happen at plate boundaries, not all earthquakes happen there. In fact, the earthquakes that happen in Utah are not the result of the movement at plate boundaries. Earthquakes in Utah occur as a result of the North American plate moving over the Yellowstone Hot Spot. Hot spots are stationary areas where magma in Earth's interior is rising to the surface. Volcanic activity and earthquakes are associated with this slow movement of the plate over the hot spot. The largest and most active of faults associated with this plate movement is the Wasatch Fault, located in northern Utah.


Source: http://geology.utah.gov/online/pdf/pi-40.pdf