QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Caliente, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Caliente in the 24 hours to 10:42 am PST (18:42 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 162 km (101 mi) NNW, at 12:01 am PDT on 27 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Caliente

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Caliente, NV, at 5:04 pm PDT on 31 March 2020 (00:04 UTC), 13 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 31 km SSE of Caliente, Nevada

5:04 pm PDT, Mar 31, 2020 · · 13 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Caliente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 53 kmWashington County 79 kmIron County 112 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
5:04 pm PDT on 31 March 2020 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Caliente, NV · earthquakes near Caliente
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
13 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Lincoln County, 53 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2332 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Caliente, 31 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.

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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 38 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada · 21 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 16 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 37 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 16 km ENE 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 37.3584, -114.3694. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, NV 53 km (33 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Washington County, UT 79 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Washington County
Iron County, UT 112 km (69 mi) ENE earthquakes near Iron County
Beaver County, UT 149 km (93 mi) NE earthquakes near Beaver County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 Nevada
  2. 2.0 15 km SW of Enterprise, Utah
  3. 2.2 14 km SW of Enterprise, Utah
  4. 1.5 30 km S of Caliente, Nevada
  5. 1.8 30 km W of Enterprise, Utah
  6. 1.5 13 km WNW of Veyo, Utah
  7. 1.6 36 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada
  8. 2.1 37 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada
  9. 1.9 16 km SW of Enterprise, Utah
  10. 1.6 Nevada
  11. 1.6 31 km SE of Alamo, Nevada
  12. 1.5 46 km ESE of Alamo, Nevada
  13. 1.6 17 km WNW of Veyo, 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.