QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

55 km S of Kingston, Nevada

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 55 km S of Kingston, Nevada, at 2:04 pm PST on 20 November 2018 (22:04 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· 0.0 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Nye County 100 kmEsmeralda County 114 kmMineral County 116 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 1.5 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Nye County, 100 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2915 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. 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.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.5 28 km E of Gabbs, Nevada · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km ESE of Gabbs, Nevada · 36 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 28 km ESE of Gabbs, Nevada · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 49 km NNE of Tonopah, Nevada · 24 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 38.7143, -117.1000. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Nye County, NV 100 km (62 mi) SE earthquakes near Nye County
Esmeralda County, NV 114 km (71 mi) SSW earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mineral County, NV 116 km (72 mi) W earthquakes near Mineral County
Churchill County, NV 136 km (84 mi) NW earthquakes near Churchill County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 60 km N of Tonopah, Nevada
  2. 1.6 60 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  3. 2.0 63 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  4. 1.5 61 km N of Tonopah, Nevada
  5. 1.8 45 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  6. 1.8 56 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  7. 1.8 56 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  8. 2.5 60 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada
  9. 1.7 Nevada
  10. 1.7 51 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  11. 1.9 41 km SSE of Kingston, Nevada
  12. 1.9 57 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada
  13. 1.6 65 km NNE of Tonopah, Nevada
  14. 1.7 62 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  15. 1.6 49 km ESE of Gabbs, 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.