QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

52.7 km SSE of Gabbs, NV

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 52.7 km SSE of Gabbs, NV, at 10:09 pm PST on 17 November 2020 (06:09 UTC), 9.6 km deep.

· 9.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 28 kmMineral County 93 kmLyon County 100 kmLander County 111 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 1.7 (ml)
Depth
9.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 28 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Louderback Mountains fault, 5 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 2185 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 8 km (5 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 27 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 16 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 36 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 43 km WSW 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 39.3208, -118.1071. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 28 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Churchill County
Mineral County, NV 93 km (58 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mineral County
Lyon County, NV 100 km (62 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lyon County
Lander County, NV 111 km (69 mi) NE earthquakes near Lander County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 50 km W of Austin, Nevada
  2. 1.6 Nevada
  3. 3.4 32 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  4. 1.5 55 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada
  5. 1.6 27 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 1.6 32 km NE of Fallon, Nevada
  7. 1.5 Nevada
  8. 1.9 27 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  9. 2.0 28 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  10. 1.5 28 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  11. 1.6 27 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  12. 1.6 8 km NNE of Gabbs, Nevada
  13. 1.7 Nevada
  14. 2.1 23 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  15. 1.7 29 km NW 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.