explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Battle Mountain, NV
USGS: 19 km WSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- When
- 12:02 pm PST on 4 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) WSW of Battle Mountain, NV · earthquakes near Battle Mountain
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Lander County, 74 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Shoshone Range fault, 20 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 3193 days ago
A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) WSW of Battle Mountain, NV, at 12:02 pm PST on 4 January 2018 (20:02 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.8 The 1915 Pleasant Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 50 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 Pleasant Valley, Nevada (Foreshock) · 31 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 31 km WSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada · 11 km SW 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 40.5645, -117.1450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lander County, NV | 74 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lander County |
| Eureka County, NV | 99 km (61 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Eureka County |
| Pershing County, NV | 108 km (67 mi) | W | earthquakes near Pershing County |
| Humboldt County, NV | 125 km (78 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Humboldt County |
| Churchill County, NV | 149 km (92 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Churchill County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 Nevada
- 3.1 5 km NE of Valmy, Nevada
- 1.6 32 km SSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- 1.6 24 km N of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 3.2 11 km NW of Valmy, Nevada
- 1.6 24 km WSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- 2.1 7 km SW of Valmy, Nevada
- 2.8 41 km SW of Valmy, Nevada
- 1.8 18 km S of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- 2.2 19 km NW of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 1.8 41 km SSW of Golconda, Nevada
- 3.5 33 km S of Golconda, Nevada
- 1.6 48 km SW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- 2.1 63 km SSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
- 2.1 22 km SW of Crescent Valley, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.