Earthquake near Moapa Valley, NV

USGS: 28 km S of Moapa Valley, Nevada

76 km (47 mi) E of Las Vegas, NV · 60 km (37 mi) E of North Las Vegas, NV

1:37 am PST, Dec 8, 2018 · 2018-12-08 09:37 UTC · 0.0 km deep · released about 11 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: 1:37 am PST on 8 December 2018 (2018-12-08 09:37 UTC)
Where: 29 km (18 mi) S of Moapa Valley, NV · earthquakes near Moapa Valley
Magnitude: M 1.7 (ml)
Depth: 0.0 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Clark County, 54 km WSW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2855 days ago · we first saw it 2855 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) S of Moapa Valley, NV, at 1:37 am PST on 8 December 2018 (09:37 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 36.3231, -114.4247. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Clark County, NV	54 km (34 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Clark County
Mohave County, AZ	91 km (56 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Mohave County
Washington County, UT	134 km (83 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Washington County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1.6 32 km S of Scenic, Arizona 17:41 UTC
3.6 32 km S of Scenic, Arizona 04:46 UTC
1.9 27 km S of Scenic, Arizona 04:46 UTC
2.3 30 km SSE of Bunkerville, Nevada 22:59 UTC
1.6 37 km S of Scenic, Arizona 14:14 UTC
2.1 32 km S of Scenic, Arizona 02:15 UTC
1.8 31 km SSE of Bunkerville, Nevada 18:39 UTC
3.3 32 km S of Scenic, Arizona 16:59 UTC
1.7 33 km S of Scenic, Arizona 01:27 UTC
1.6 33 km S of Scenic, Arizona 23:55 UTC
2.6 30 km S of Scenic, Arizona 23:48 UTC
2.2 33 km S of Scenic, Arizona 22:57 UTC
3.4 32 km S of Scenic, Arizona 22:24 UTC
2.6 29 km S of Scenic, Arizona 02:05 UTC
2.9 30 km S of Scenic, Arizona 14:11 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:53 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.