QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Fallon, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fallon in the 24 hours to 2:10 pm PST (22:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 24 km (15 mi) SW, at 12:51 am PDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fallon

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) east-northeast of Fallon, NV, at 8:37 am PDT on 16 April 2020 (15:37 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada

8:37 am PDT, Apr 16, 2020 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fallon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 14 kmLyon County 87 kmStorey County 95 kmPershing County 101 kmMineral County 113 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
8:37 am PDT on 16 April 2020 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) east-northeast of Fallon, NV · earthquakes near Fallon
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 14 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Rainbow Mountain fault, 5 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 2401 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fallon, 31 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 50 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 19 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 17 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 36 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 40 km S of Lovelock, Nevada · 31 km N 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 39.5346, -118.4265. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Churchill County
Lyon County, NV 87 km (54 mi) SW earthquakes near Lyon County
Storey County, NV 95 km (59 mi) W earthquakes near Storey County
Pershing County, NV 101 km (63 mi) N earthquakes near Pershing County
Mineral County, NV 113 km (70 mi) S earthquakes near Mineral County
Carson City, NV 121 km (75 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 35 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  2. 1.9 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  3. 1.5 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  4. 1.5 54 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada
  5. 1.5 39 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 2.7 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  7. 1.9 29 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  8. 2.1 53 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  9. 1.5 27 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  10. 1.7 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  11. 1.5 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  12. 2.0 50 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  13. 2.4 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  14. 1.6 26 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  15. 2.3 27 km NE of Fallon Station, 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.