Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Tonopah, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Tonopah in the 24 hours to 10:16 am PST (18:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 55 km (34 mi) W, at 1:52 am PDT on 25 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tonopah
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Tonopah, NV, at 11:57 pm PDT on 20 May 2020 (06:57 UTC), less than 1 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 39 km ESE of Mina, Nevada
- When
- 11:57 pm PDT on 20 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Tonopah, NV · earthquakes near Tonopah
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Esmeralda County, 48 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Monte Cristo Valley fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2366 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tonopah, NV
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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 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Tonopah, 46 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- 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 6.5 on 2020-05-15 — about 7,900,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 The 1932 Cedar Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 33 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 37 km N of Dyer, Nevada · 38 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 33 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 33 km SW 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 38.2027, -117.7307. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 48 km (30 mi) | S | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Mineral County, NV | 69 km (43 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Mono County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Nye County, NV | 114 km (71 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Nye 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.
- 2.1 34 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.9 31 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.8 26 km S of Mina, Nevada
- 2.4 28 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.9 28 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.1 29 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.9 27 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.1 30 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.8 36 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.6 24 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.8 31 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 2.6 30 km SE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.5 31 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.6 28 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
- 1.6 30 km SE 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.