QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Lovelock, NV

USGS: 33 km SSE of Lovelock, Nevada

7:04 am PDT, Oct 16, 2018 · · 13 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lovelock Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 40 kmPershing County 61 kmStorey County 111 kmLander County 113 kmLyon County 120 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
7:04 am PDT on 16 October 2018 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) SSE of Lovelock, NV · earthquakes near Lovelock
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Churchill County, 40 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Eastern Carson Sink fault, 6 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 2908 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) SSE of Lovelock, NV, at 7:04 am PDT on 16 October 2018 (14:04 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 40 km S of Lovelock, Nevada · 12 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 29 km NE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 35 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 Western Nevada · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 27 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 38 km S 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 39.8905, -118.3723. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 40 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Churchill County
Pershing County, NV 61 km (38 mi) N earthquakes near Pershing County
Storey County, NV 111 km (69 mi) WSW earthquakes near Storey County
Lander County, NV 113 km (70 mi) E earthquakes near Lander County
Lyon County, NV 120 km (74 mi) SW earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 144 km (89 mi) SW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 58 km ESE of Lovelock, Nevada
  2. 1.7 41 km E of Nixon, Nevada
  3. 1.6 27 km ENE of Lovelock, Nevada
  4. 1.9 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  5. 1.5 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  6. 1.6 26 km ENE of Lovelock, Nevada
  7. 1.9 28 km E of Lovelock, Nevada
  8. 3.3 67 km SE of Lovelock, Nevada
  9. 1.6 44 km SW of Lovelock, Nevada
  10. 2.7 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  11. 1.9 29 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  12. 2.1 53 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  13. 1.7 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  14. 1.5 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  15. 2.0 50 km ENE of Fallon Station, 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.