QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Bullhead City, AZ

No earthquake was likely felt in Bullhead City in the 24 hours to 9:11 pm MST (04:11 UTC), and no quake recorded near town since 2016 is estimated to have been strong enough to notice there. Every earthquake near Bullhead City

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) northwest of Bullhead City, AZ, at 4:19 am MST on 20 August 2016 (11:19 UTC), 9.3 km deep.

USGS: 7 km WSW of Searchlight, Nevada

93 km (58 mi) SSE of Las Vegas, NV

4:19 am MST, Aug 20, 2016 · · 9.3 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bullhead City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 88 kmMohave County 117 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
4:19 am MST on 20 August 2016 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) northwest of Bullhead City, AZ · earthquakes near Bullhead City
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
9.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clark County, 88 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3055 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Bullhead City, 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 7.6 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 2,000,000× 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 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 35.4273, -114.9918. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, NV 88 km (54 mi) N earthquakes near Clark County
Mohave County, AZ 117 km (73 mi) ENE earthquakes near Mohave County
San Bernardino County, CA 125 km (78 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 22km SW of Primm, NV
  2. 2.1 21km SW of Primm, NV
  3. 2.2 21km SW of Primm, NV
  4. 2.1 18km SW of Primm, NV
  5. 2.3 21km SW of Primm, NV
  6. 2.2 38 km SSE of Sandy Valley, Nevada
  7. 2.3 21km SW of Primm, NV
  8. 2.3 20km SW of Primm, NV
  9. 1.5 17 km S of Goodsprings, Nevada
  10. 2.2 19km SW of Primm, NV
  11. 2.4 20km SW of Primm, NV
  12. 2.1 21km SW of Primm, NV
  13. 2.0 18km SW of Primm, NV
  14. 2.5 21km SW of Primm, NV
  15. 2.2 18km SW of Primm, NV

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.