QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Sandy Valley, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Sandy Valley in the 24 hours to 3:05 am PST (11:05 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 35 km (22 mi) S, at 10:28 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 4 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sandy Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Sandy Valley, NV, at 9:03 pm PST on 8 November 2018 (05:03 UTC), 1.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 12 km WNW of Sandy Valley, Nevada

61 km (38 mi) SW of Las Vegas, NV

9:03 pm PST, Nov 8, 2018 · · 1.1 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sandy Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 77 kmSan Bernardino County 118 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
9:03 pm PST on 8 November 2018 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Sandy Valley, NV · earthquakes near Sandy Valley
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
1.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Clark County, 77 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2926 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Sandy Valley, 12 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2018-07-05 — about 32,000 times the energy of this one.

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 35.8622, -115.7559. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, NV 77 km (48 mi) ENE earthquakes near Clark County
San Bernardino County, CA 118 km (73 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 23 km WSW of Sandy Valley, Nevada
  2. 2.4 20km SW of Primm, NV
  3. 2.3 20km SW of Primm, NV
  4. 1.8 15 km S of Enterprise, Nevada
  5. 1.5 13 km ENE of Tecopa, California
  6. 1.8 21 km SW of Primm, NV
  7. 1.9 21 km SW of Primm, NV
  8. 2.1 21 km SW of Primm, NV
  9. 2.0 21 km SW of Primm, NV
  10. 2.1 21 km SW of Primm, NV
  11. 2.3 17km SW of Primm, NV
  12. 2.1 16 km SW of Primm, NV
  13. 1.7 8 km W of Blue Diamond, Nevada
  14. 1.5 25 km SW of Sandy Valley, Nevada
  15. 2.3 20km SW of Primm, NV

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.