QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

59 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.9 explosion was recorded 59 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada, at 3:14 pm PST on 17 January 2019 (23:14 UTC), 16 km deep.

· 16 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 104 kmNye County 105 kmEsmeralda County 107 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 1.9 (ml)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 104 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2857 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. 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 37 km ESE of Gabbs, Nevada · 26 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 28 km ESE of Gabbs, Nevada · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 49 km NNE of Tonopah, Nevada · 24 km SSE 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 38.6874, -117.2339. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 104 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Mineral County
Nye County, NV 105 km (65 mi) SE earthquakes near Nye County
Esmeralda County, NV 107 km (66 mi) SSW earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Churchill County, NV 130 km (81 mi) NW earthquakes near Churchill County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 61 km N of Tonopah, Nevada
  2. 2.6 60 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada
  3. 1.7 58 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  4. 1.5 60 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada
  5. 1.5 60 km N of Tonopah, Nevada
  6. 1.6 60 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  7. 2.0 63 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  8. 1.5 61 km N of Tonopah, Nevada
  9. 1.8 45 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  10. 1.8 56 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  11. 1.8 56 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  12. 2.5 60 km SSW of Kingston, Nevada
  13. 1.7 Nevada
  14. 1.7 51 km S of Kingston, Nevada
  15. 1.9 41 km SSE of Kingston, 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.