QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

31 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 31 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada, at 1:08 am PST on 3 February 2019 (09:08 UTC), 12 km deep.

· 12 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 52 kmMineral County 66 kmLyon County 89 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 2.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 52 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Hot Springs fault, 2 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 2765 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 20 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 23 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 16 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada · 50 km NW 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 39.0768, -118.1638. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 52 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near Churchill County
Mineral County, NV 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mineral County
Lyon County, NV 89 km (56 mi) W earthquakes near Lyon County
Storey County, NV 124 km (77 mi) WNW earthquakes near Storey County
Lander County, NV 133 km (82 mi) NE earthquakes near Lander County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 33 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada
  2. 2.0 33 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada
  3. 1.7 52.7 km SSE of Gabbs, NV
  4. 1.6 35 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  5. 2.0 6 km SE of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 1.6 38 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  7. 1.5 28 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  8. 2.0 28 km ESE of Schurz, Nevada
  9. 2.2 34 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  10. 1.5 55 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada
  11. 1.5 38 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  12. 1.8 32 km SE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  13. 1.9 21 km S of Gabbs, Nevada
  14. 1.5 34 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  15. 2.3 30 km W 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.