QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Elko, NV

USGS: 28 km NNW of Osino, Nevada

10:49 am PDT, Mar 9, 2020 · · 7.4 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

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10 km30 km60 km120 km N Elko County 34 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
10:49 am PDT on 9 March 2020 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) N of Elko, NV · earthquakes near Elko
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
16 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Elko County, 34 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2323 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) N of Elko, NV, at 10:49 am PDT on 9 March 2020 (17:49 UTC). 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 Near Elko, Nevada · 42 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 41.1755, -115.7595. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Elko County, NV 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Elko County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 52 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  2. 2.0 47 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  3. 2.3 46 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  4. 2.0 45 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  5. 1.6 41 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  6. 2.7 47 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  7. 2.1 44 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  8. 2.0 45 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  9. 3.2 47 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  10. 1.6 49 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  11. 1.6 7 km WNW of Elko, Nevada
  12. 1.5 14 km NNE of Carlin, Nevada
  13. 2.2 19 km NNW of Carlin, Nevada
  14. 3.6 31 km NE of Osino, Nevada
  15. 1.8 47 km NNW of Carlin, 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.