QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.1ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 6:02 am PST (14:02 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 4.1 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Hawthorne, NV, at 3:00 am PDT on 22 March 2016 (10:00 UTC), 11 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km WNW of Walker Lake, Nevada

3:00 am PDT, Mar 22, 2016 · · 11 km deep · released about 21 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 36 kmLyon County 54 kmDouglas County 77 kmMono County 83 kmAlpine County 88 kmCarson City 100 kmChurchill County 108 kmStorey County 108 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
3:00 am PDT on 22 March 2016 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) northwest of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 4.1 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Mineral County, 36 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range fault, 2 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 1605 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 104 km (65 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Hawthorne 20 km, intensity III · Yerington 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.1 about 21 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 45× more

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 4.3 on 2016-03-21 — about 2 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.5 13 km NW of Schurz, Nevada · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 21 km S of Hawthorne, Nevada · 38 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 45 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 13 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada · 25 km ESE 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 38.6555, -118.7841. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 36 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Mineral County
Lyon County, NV 54 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 77 km (48 mi) WNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Mono County, CA 83 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Mono County
Alpine County, CA 88 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Alpine County
Carson City, NV 100 km (62 mi) NW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 19 km SSE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 2.4 2 km WNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  3. 2.2 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  4. 1.6 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  5. 1.8 2 km WNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  6. 1.7 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  8. 1.5 2 km NW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  9. 2.6 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  10. 2.1 23 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  11. 1.8 2 km WNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  12. 1.6 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  13. 2.4 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  14. 1.6 22 km ESE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  15. 1.8 3 km WNW of Walker Lake, 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.