Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 10:20 pm PST (06:20 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north-northeast of Hawthorne, NV, at 10:30 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 (05:30 UTC), 12 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 17 km NNE of Hawthorne, Nevada
- When
- 10:30 pm PDT on 6 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) north-northeast of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mineral County, 21 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Indian Head fault, 16 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 2228 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hawthorne, NV
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Alerts are on for .
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This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hawthorne, 18 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 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,000,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 44 km SSE 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 38.6743, -118.5458. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral County, NV | 21 km (13 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Lyon County, NV | 68 km (43 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Mono County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Douglas County, NV | 96 km (59 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Churchill County, NV | 99 km (62 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Churchill County |
| Alpine County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | W | earthquakes near Alpine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 20 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
- 3.1 16 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
- 2.2 28 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.8 28 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.8 29 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.5 28 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 2.2 29 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.5 16 km N of Walker Lake, Nevada
- 2.1 23 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 2.0 23 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 2.6 California-Nevada border region
- 1.9 8 km WSW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.5 8 km NNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
- 1.5 26 km NNW 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.