QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

33 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 33 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada, at 11:58 am PST on 16 December 2020 (19:58 UTC), 6.3 km deep.

· 6.3 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 70 kmMineral County 92 kmLander County 103 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
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 70 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Desatoya Mountains fault, 12 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 2157 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 15 km (9 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 24 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 43 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 44 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 18 km S of Gabbs, Nevada · 49 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 28 km E of Gabbs, Nevada · 24 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 39.1059, -117.6757. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 70 km (43 mi) NW earthquakes near Churchill County
Mineral County, NV 92 km (57 mi) SW earthquakes near Mineral County
Lander County, NV 103 km (64 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lander County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 31 km ENE of Gabbs, Nevada
  2. 1.7 24 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  3. 2.2 56 km NNE of Gabbs, Nevada
  4. 1.6 Nevada
  5. 3.4 32 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  6. 1.6 27 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  7. 1.6 40 km WNW of Kingston, Nevada
  8. 1.8 3 km SSW of Gabbs, Nevada
  9. 3.0 37 km WNW of Kingston, Nevada
  10. 1.5 Nevada
  11. 2.1 4 km NE of Gabbs, Nevada
  12. 1.9 27 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  13. 2.0 28 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  14. 1.5 28 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  15. 1.6 27 km WNW 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.