QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 6:23 am PST (14:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) N, at 12:54 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Hawthorne

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Hawthorne, NV, at 2:48 pm PST on 18 February 2022 (22:48 UTC), 4.2 km deep.

USGS: 27km ESE of Bodie, CA

2:48 pm PST, Feb 18, 2022 · · 4.2 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 23 kmMineral County 55 kmEsmeralda County 103 kmTuolumne County 107 kmAlpine County 109 kmLyon County 111 kmMariposa County 118 kmDouglas County 118 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:48 pm PST on 18 February 2022 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
4.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 23 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Huntoon Valley fault system, 6 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1727 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 970,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 48 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 33 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 38 km NE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 38.0892, -118.7422. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 23 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mono County
Mineral County, NV 55 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mineral County
Esmeralda County, NV 103 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Tuolumne County, CA 107 km (67 mi) W earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Alpine County, CA 109 km (68 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Lyon County, NV 111 km (69 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lyon County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 25 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  2. 1.7 39km NNE of Toms Place, CA
  3. 1.7 32 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  4. 1.9 33 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  5. 1.7 26 km SW of Mina, Nevada
  6. 1.7 6 km ESE of Bridgeport, California
  7. 1.5 27 km SW of Mina, Nevada
  8. 2.6 43km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
  9. 2.1 42km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
  10. 1.6 29 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
  11. 1.8 36km E of Lee Vining, CA
  12. 1.8 36km E of Lee Vining, CA
  13. 2.7 26 km SW of Mina, Nevada
  14. 2.6 40km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
  15. 1.8 29 km WSW of Mina, Nevada

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.