Earthquake near Carlin, NV

USGS: 39 km NW of Carlin, Nevada

12:05 pm PDT, May 16, 2018 · 2018-05-16 19:05 UTC · 0.0 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

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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: 12:05 pm PDT on 16 May 2018 (2018-05-16 19:05 UTC)
Where: 39 km (24 mi) NW of Carlin, NV · earthquakes near Carlin
Magnitude: M 1.8 (ml)
Depth: 0.0 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Elko County, 88 km E
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 3061 days ago · we first saw it 3061 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) NW of Carlin, NV, at 12:05 pm PDT on 16 May 2018 (19:05 UTC). 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

5.1 21 km NNE of Crescent Valley, Nevada · 45 km SSW of this epicentre Sep 18, 1945

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 40.9974, -116.3834. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Elko County, NV	88 km (55 mi)	E	earthquakes near Elko County
Eureka County, NV	114 km (71 mi)	S	earthquakes near Eureka 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.

2.4 Nevada 21:10 UTC
1.6 62 km NE of Valmy, Nevada 04:55 UTC
2.1 15 km ENE of Carlin, Nevada 15:02 UTC
1.9 13 km E of Carlin, Nevada 08:57 UTC
2.1 39 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 21:55 UTC
2.0 39 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 21:56 UTC
1.8 41 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 19:10 UTC
2.0 10 km S of Carlin, Nevada 20:34 UTC
3.1 47 km NNE of Valmy, Nevada 21:48 UTC
1.5 44 km NNE of Battle Mountain, Nevada 01:56 UTC
1.9 13 km NE of Carlin, Nevada 10:32 UTC
2.3 38 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 21:40 UTC
1.9 36 km WNW of Carlin, Nevada 18:07 UTC
1.8 40 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 02:01 UTC
2.1 39 km NW of Carlin, Nevada 02:02 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:43 UTC. 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.