QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 3:49 pm PST (23:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) N, at 12:54 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Hawthorne

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Hawthorne, NV, at 4:39 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 (23:39 UTC), 8.4 km deep.

USGS: 28 km ESE of Schurz, Nevada

4:39 pm PDT, Oct 6, 2020 · · 8.4 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 38 kmLyon County 63 kmChurchill County 79 kmDouglas County 96 kmMono County 109 kmStorey County 109 kmCarson City 112 kmAlpine County 115 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
4:39 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 38 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Benton Spring fault, 18 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 2228 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 38 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 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4.5 on 2016-07-07 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 44 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 44 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 13 km NW of Schurz, Nevada · 42 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 14 km SSW of Gabbs, Nevada · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 44 km E 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 38.8520, -118.5056. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 38 km (24 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mineral County
Lyon County, NV 63 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Churchill County
Douglas County, NV 96 km (59 mi) W earthquakes near Douglas County
Mono County, CA 109 km (68 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mono County
Storey County, NV 109 km (68 mi) NW earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 11 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 1.8 19 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 1.7 40 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  4. 1.8 11 km SSW of Schurz, Nevada
  5. 1.5 30 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 1.6 29 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  7. 1.7 24 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  8. 1.5 20 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  9. 2.2 22 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
  10. 1.7 17 km SE of Schurz, Nevada
  11. 1.5 12 km NNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  12. 1.6 30 km SE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  13. 1.6 17 km ENE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  14. 1.5 22 km E of Schurz, Nevada
  15. 1.5 7 km N of Walker Lake, 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.