Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 3:16 pm PST (23:16 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 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Hawthorne, NV, at 6:03 am PST on 6 December 2020 (14:03 UTC), 8.4 km deep.
USGS: 31 km E of Bridgeport, California
- When
- 6:03 am PST on 6 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mono County, 36 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wassuk Range fault, 19 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 1648 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hawthorne, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hawthorne, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 45 km E of this epicentre
- 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 30 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 42 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 38.2427, -118.8705. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mono County, CA | 36 km (23 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Mineral County, NV | 50 km (31 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Alpine County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
| Lyon County, NV | 91 km (57 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Douglas County, NV | 98 km (61 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 99 km (61 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.9 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 2.3 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 2.0 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 3 km W of Walker Lake, Nevada
- 2.3 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 1.7 33 km ENE of Lee Vining, California
- 1.5 32 km ENE of Lee Vining, California
- 2.0 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 2.0 16 km S of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 2.6 16 km S of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.6 30km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.0 40km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 1.6 15 km N of Benton, California
- 1.5 39km NNE of Toms Place, CA
- 1.5 30 km NW of Benton, California
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.