QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

6 km SE of Gabbs, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km SE of Gabbs, Nevada, at 11:26 am PDT on 22 October 2020 (18:26 UTC), 9.6 km deep.

· 9.6 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 59 kmChurchill County 86 kmLyon County 117 kmEsmeralda County 119 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 2.0 (ml)
Depth
9.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 59 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Gabbs Valley 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 2212 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 13 km (8 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 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

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 · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.8 The 1932 Cedar Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 26 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 18 km S of Gabbs, Nevada · 15 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 28 km E of Gabbs, Nevada · 24 km ENE 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 38.8288, -117.8659. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 59 km (37 mi) SW earthquakes near Mineral County
Churchill County, NV 86 km (53 mi) NNW earthquakes near Churchill County
Lyon County, NV 117 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Lyon County
Esmeralda County, NV 119 km (74 mi) S earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 134 km (83 mi) SW earthquakes near Mono County
Lander County, NV 138 km (86 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lander County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 23 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  2. 1.6 23 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  3. 2.7 22 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  4. 2.0 10 km NE of Mina, Nevada
  5. 2.6 31 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 1.5 22 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
  7. 1.7 Nevada
  8. 1.6 17 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada
  9. 2.0 26 km NE of Mina, Nevada
  10. 1.9 30 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada
  11. 1.8 40 km NNE of Gabbs, Nevada
  12. 1.8 22 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada
  13. 1.9 39 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  14. 2.8 2 km WSW of Gabbs, Nevada
  15. 1.5 30 km NNW of Gabbs, 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.