QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

54 km ESE of Lovelock, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 54 km ESE of Lovelock, Nevada, at 4:20 pm PST on 29 January 2018 (00:20 UTC), 1.2 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 1.2 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 57 kmPershing County 68 kmLander County 73 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
1.2 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Churchill County, 57 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Dixie Valley 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 1559 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. 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 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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:

  1. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 33 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.8 The 1915 Pleasant Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 Western Nevada · 9 km WNW 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 39.9647, -117.8989. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 57 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Churchill County
Pershing County, NV 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Pershing County
Lander County, NV 73 km (45 mi) E earthquakes near Lander County
Lyon County, NV 153 km (95 mi) SW earthquakes near Lyon County

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. 1.5 44 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  2. 1.7 47 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  3. 1.5 49 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  4. 3.5 41 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  5. 1.9 44 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  6. 1.6 42 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  7. 1.9 44 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  8. 2.3 43 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  9. 2.6 50 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  10. 2.4 47 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  11. 1.6 43 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  12. 1.8 50 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  13. 2.0 48 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  14. 3.1 46 km NW of Austin, Nevada
  15. 1.9 44 km NW of Austin, 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.