QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 1:56 pm PST (21:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) N, at 12:54 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Hawthorne

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north of Hawthorne, NV, at 2:19 pm PST on 6 January 2019 (22:19 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 17 km E of Schurz, Nevada

2:19 pm PST, Jan 6, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lyon County 52 kmMineral County 52 kmChurchill County 71 kmDouglas County 87 kmStorey County 96 kmCarson City 101 kmAlpine County 110 kmMono 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
2:19 pm PST on 6 January 2019 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) north of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lyon County, 52 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range fault, 18 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 2867 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hawthorne, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 2016-07-07 — about 32,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 47 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 32 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 13 km NW of Schurz, Nevada · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 13 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 30 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 31 km E 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 38.9583, -118.6052. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lyon County, NV 52 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 52 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mineral County
Churchill County, NV 71 km (44 mi) NNE earthquakes near Churchill County
Douglas County, NV 87 km (54 mi) W earthquakes near Douglas County
Storey County, NV 96 km (59 mi) NW earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 101 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Carson City

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. 2.2 18 km ENE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 2.0 23 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 1.6 California-Nevada border region
  4. 2.2 25 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  5. 1.9 9 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  6. 2.6 25 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  7. 1.9 20 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  8. 2.0 14 km ENE of Walker Lake, Nevada
  9. 1.5 10 km NW of Schurz, Nevada
  10. 1.5 18 km ENE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  11. 2.5 9 km W of Walker Lake, Nevada
  12. 1.5 34 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  13. 1.8 19 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  14. 1.5 40 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  15. 1.9 9 km NNW of Walker Lake, 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.