QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 2:06 pm PST (22:06 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Hawthorne, NV, at 1:23 am PST on 28 December 2016 (09:23 UTC), 10 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 30 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada

1:23 am PST, Dec 28, 2016 · · 10 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 45 kmMono County 48 kmLyon County 79 kmAlpine County 85 kmDouglas County 88 kmTuolumne County 101 kmCarson City 116 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
1:23 am PST on 28 December 2016 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) southwest of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Mineral County, 45 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range fault, 23 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 3055 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 30 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 47 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 38 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 43 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 43 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 43 km E 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 38.3496, -118.8905. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 48 km (30 mi) S earthquakes near Mono County
Lyon County, NV 79 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lyon County
Alpine County, CA 85 km (53 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 88 km (55 mi) NW earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 101 km (63 mi) WSW earthquakes near Tuolumne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 28 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 2.5 30 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 1.6 29 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
  4. 1.5 28 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  5. 1.6 29 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
  6. 2.5 28 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 30 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  8. 1.5 30 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  9. 1.7 30 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  10. 1.7 28 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  11. 2.4 30 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
  12. 1.5 28 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  13. 2.4 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  14. 2.8 29 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  15. 1.6 28 km WSW of Hawthorne, 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.