QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 6:37 am PST (14:37 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Hawthorne, NV, at 2:31 pm PST on 16 December 2017 (22:31 UTC), 2.9 km deep.

USGS: 8 km W of Mina, Nevada

2:31 pm PST, Dec 16, 2017 · · 2.9 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 24 kmMono County 78 kmEsmeralda County 84 kmLyon County 112 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
2:31 pm PST on 16 December 2017 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) east-southeast of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 24 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Rattlesnake Flat fault, 12 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 3056 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 40 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 4.3 on 2016-03-21 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 33 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1932 Cedar Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 33 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 17 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 46 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 19 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 37 km N of Dyer, Nevada · 43 km SSE 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 38.3801, -118.2053. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 78 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 84 km (52 mi) SE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Lyon County, NV 112 km (69 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County
Storey County, NV 164 km (102 mi) NW earthquakes near Storey 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. 2.4 10 km SSW of Gabbs, Nevada
  2. 2.1 17 km ENE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 2.1 33 km NNE of Benton, California
  4. 1.7 23 km WNW of Mina, Nevada
  5. 1.5 16 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  6. 1.8 14 km NNE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 2.6 26 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  8. 1.8 13 km NNE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  9. 2.4 14 km NNE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  10. 1.8 33 km N of Dyer, Nevada
  11. 1.6 32 km N of Dyer, Nevada
  12. 1.7 37 km S of Mina, Nevada
  13. 1.6 23 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  14. 1.7 23 km ENE of Mina, Nevada
  15. 1.5 9 km E 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.