Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 6.5ml
Monte Cristo Range, NV Earthquake
Yes. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake was recorded in Monte Cristo Range, NV Earthquake, at 4:03 am PDT on 15 May 2020 (11:03 UTC), 2.7 km deep. 11,961 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 6.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11,961 reports · strongest reported intensity VII
- Measured shaking
- intensity VIII (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 47 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Benton Spring fault, 12 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 278 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tonopah, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Tonopah, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a strong earthquake. Damage is likely near the epicentre and it is felt over a wide area.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 453 km (281 mi) from the epicentre. 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 85 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 7.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Ridgecrest, California 2019 M 7.1 7.9× the energy of this one
- Loma Prieta, California 1989 M 6.9 4× the energy of this one
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 6.5 about 85 kilotons of TNT
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 this one released 11× more
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 this one released 16× more
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.
Where
Epicentre 38.1689, -117.8497. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 47 km (29 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mineral County, NV | 63 km (39 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Mono County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Lyon County, NV | 151 km (94 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lyon County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.3 26 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.5 34 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.4 29 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 3.3 33 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.8 30 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 3.0 29 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.6 32 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.6 26 km S of Mina, Nevada
- 2.5 32 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.4 30 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.7 33 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 4.3 37 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.9 34 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 3.0 39 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 3.3 27 km SSE of Mina, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.