QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Pioche, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Pioche in the 24 hours to 9:47 am PST (17:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 6 km (4 mi) SW, at 10:59 am PDT on 24 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pioche

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) southeast of Pioche, NV, at 7:46 am PST on 3 February 2020 (15:46 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 8 km E of Panaca, Nevada

7:46 am PST, Feb 3, 2020 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 53 kmIron County 87 kmWashington County 92 kmBeaver County 111 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
7:46 am PST on 3 February 2020 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) southeast of Pioche, NV · earthquakes near Pioche
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 53 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2400 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Pioche, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Pioche 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 4.2 on 2016-01-15 — about 200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 38 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 45 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 45 km S 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 37.7974, -114.2910. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, NV 53 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Iron County, UT 87 km (54 mi) E earthquakes near Iron County
Washington County, UT 92 km (57 mi) SE earthquakes near Washington County
Beaver County, UT 111 km (69 mi) NE earthquakes near Beaver County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 29 km WSW of Pioche, Nevada
  2. 1.8 28 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  3. 2.1 23 km SSE of Caliente, Nevada
  4. 1.8 27 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  5. 1.8 19 km SSE of Caliente, Nevada
  6. 2.0 28 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  7. 1.5 27 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  8. 3.0 14 km WNW of Pioche, Nevada
  9. 1.7 17 km SW of Pioche, Nevada
  10. 1.7 19 km WSW of Enterprise, Utah
  11. 2.1 15 km NW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  12. 1.8 30 km W of Enterprise, Utah
  13. 2.4 18 km WNW of Beryl Junction, Utah
  14. 2.3 29 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada
  15. 1.9 33 km W of Enterprise, Utah

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.