QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

31 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 31 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada, at 11:51 am PDT on 2 October 2018 (18:51 UTC), 1.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 1.8 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washoe County 16 kmLassen County 77 kmPershing County 112 kmPlumas County 115 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 2.6 (ml)
Depth
1.8 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Washoe County, 16 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Bonham Ranch fault, 5 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 2891 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 23 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 40.5931, -119.7187. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washoe County, NV 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Washoe County
Lassen County, CA 77 km (48 mi) W earthquakes near Lassen County
Pershing County, NV 112 km (70 mi) E earthquakes near Pershing County
Plumas County, CA 115 km (72 mi) SW earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 132 km (82 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Modoc County, CA 139 km (86 mi) NW earthquakes near Modoc County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 11 km SSE of Burning Man Earth, Nevada
  2. 1.7 9 km NW of Gerlach, Nevada
  3. 1.7 8 km NW of Gerlach, Nevada
  4. 1.6 11 km NW of Gerlach, Nevada
  5. 1.7 21 km W of Empire, Nevada
  6. 1.6 9 km W of Burning Man Earth, Nevada
  7. 2.2 9 km WSW of Burning Man Earth, Nevada
  8. 2.1 23 km WSW of Empire, Nevada
  9. 2.7 3 km SW of Gerlach, Nevada
  10. 2.7 4 km SSE of Burning Man Earth, Nevada
  11. 1.6 27 km W of Gerlach, Nevada
  12. 1.6 26 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  13. 2.3 26 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  14. 1.8 28 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  15. 1.5 37 km WSW of Gerlach, 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.