QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 12:55 pm PST (20:55 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) south-southeast of Hawthorne, NV, at 11:35 pm PDT on 8 March 2020 (06:35 UTC), 3.5 km deep.

USGS: 34 km SW of Mina, Nevada

11:35 pm PDT, Mar 8, 2020 · · 3.5 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 42 kmMono County 52 kmEsmeralda County 75 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
11:35 pm PDT on 8 March 2020 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) south-southeast of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
3.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 42 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Huntoon Valley fault system, 13 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 2439 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2016-03-21 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 15 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 35 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 37 km N of Dyer, Nevada · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 35 km ESE 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 38.1437, -118.3542. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 42 km (26 mi) N earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 52 km (32 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 75 km (47 mi) ESE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Lyon County, NV 122 km (76 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 138 km (86 mi) NW earthquakes near Douglas 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. 1.6 34 km NW of Benton, California
  2. 1.7 29km SE of Bodie, CA
  3. 2.1 29km SE of Bodie, CA
  4. 1.7 29km ESE of Bodie, CA
  5. 1.6 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  6. 3.3 31km ESE of Bodie, CA
  7. 2.2 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  8. 1.7 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  9. 2.5 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  10. 1.6 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  11. 2.0 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  12. 2.2 30km SE of Bodie, CA
  13. 3.0 29km SE of Bodie, CA
  14. 1.6 29km SE of Bodie, CA
  15. 2.1 29km SE of Bodie, CA

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.