QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

34km SSW of Qualeys Camp, NV

Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 34km SSW of Qualeys Camp, NV, at 10:25 am PDT on 17 July 2022 (17:25 UTC), 10 km deep.

· 10 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mono County 22 kmMineral County 59 kmEsmeralda County 95 kmTuolumne County 114 kmAlpine County 119 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mono County, 22 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Huntoon Valley fault system, under 1 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 1578 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 170,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 29 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 39 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 7 km ENE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 44 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 8 km NNE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 40 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 12 km ESE of Mammoth Lakes, California · 48 km SSW 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 38.0245, -118.6643. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mono County, CA 22 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mono County
Mineral County, NV 59 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mineral County
Esmeralda County, NV 95 km (59 mi) ESE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Tuolumne County, CA 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Alpine County, CA 119 km (74 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Lyon County, NV 120 km (75 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 33 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 2.2 14 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 1.6 31 km ENE of Lee Vining, California
  4. 1.8 28km SE of Bodie, CA
  5. 1.6 17 km N of Benton, California
  6. 1.7 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  7. 2.6 28 km NE of Benton, California
  8. 1.5 41km S of Qualeys Camp, NV
  9. 1.6 28 km NE of Benton, California
  10. 2.3 29 km NE of Benton, California
  11. 2.9 29 km NE of Benton, California
  12. 1.5 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  13. 1.5 6km E of Mammoth Lakes, CA
  14. 1.9 California-Nevada border region
  15. 2.0 14km WNW of Toms Place, CA

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.