QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3ml

57 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 57 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada, at 4:51 am PDT on 12 September 2020 (11:51 UTC), 2.9 km deep.

· 2.9 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 18 kmLander County 96 kmPershing County 106 kmLyon County 113 kmMineral County 116 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
Magnitude
M 2.3 (ml)
Depth
2.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 18 km W
Nearest mapped fault
West Gate fault, 9 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 2252 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 20 km (12 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 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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. 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 37 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 23 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 40 km S of Lovelock, Nevada · 47 km NW 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 39.5261, -118.0601. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 18 km (11 mi) W earthquakes near Churchill County
Lander County, NV 96 km (60 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lander County
Pershing County, NV 106 km (66 mi) NNW earthquakes near Pershing County
Lyon County, NV 113 km (70 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 116 km (72 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mineral County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 67 km SE of Lovelock, Nevada
  2. 1.5 39 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  3. 2.7 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  4. 1.9 29 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  5. 1.9 Nevada
  6. 2.0 57 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  7. 1.7 56 km WNW of Austin, Nevada
  8. 2.1 53 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  9. 1.7 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  10. 1.5 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  11. 2.0 50 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  12. 2.4 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  13. 2.2 56 km NNE of Gabbs, Nevada
  14. 2.3 27 km NE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  15. 1.8 62 km ENE 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.