QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.0ml

49 km NW of Austin, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 49 km NW of Austin, Nevada, at 10:03 am PDT on 28 April 2019 (17:03 UTC), 4.0 km deep.

· 4.0 km deep · released about 15 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lander County 40 kmChurchill County 72 kmPershing County 106 kmEureka County 106 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 4.0 (ml)
Depth
4.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Lander County, 40 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2680 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 97 km (60 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 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× more

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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 35 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 Western Nevada · 49 km WNW 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 39.7969, -117.4942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lander County, NV 40 km (25 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lander County
Churchill County, NV 72 km (45 mi) WSW earthquakes near Churchill County
Pershing County, NV 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Pershing County
Eureka County, NV 106 km (66 mi) ENE earthquakes near Eureka County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 61 km W of Austin, Nevada
  2. 1.7 56 km ESE of Lovelock, Nevada
  3. 1.7 52 km W of Austin, Nevada
  4. 1.7 19 km NNE of Austin, Nevada
  5. 1.6 60 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  6. 2.2 53 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  7. 1.6 59 km E of Lovelock, Nevada
  8. 2.5 55 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  9. 1.5 55 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  10. 2.2 Nevada
  11. 2.1 40 km NNW of Austin, Nevada
  12. 1.9 44 km NNW of Austin, Nevada
  13. 1.6 58 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  14. 2.7 44 km NNW of Austin, Nevada
  15. 1.5 55 km NW of Austin, 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.