Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Fernley, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Fernley in the 24 hours to 4:25 am PST (12:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 14 km (9 mi) E, at 7:39 pm PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fernley
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Fernley, NV, at 10:59 am PST on 20 December 2020 (18:59 UTC), 14 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km ESE of Fernley, Nevada
64 km (40 mi) E of Reno, NV · 53 km (33 mi) E of Sparks, NV
- When
- 10:59 am PST on 20 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) east-southeast of Fernley, NV · earthquakes near Fernley
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Storey County, 39 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Hot Springs 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 2085 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fernley, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fernley, 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Fernley, 13 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Silver Springs, Fallon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 22 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 48 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 22 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada · 48 km N 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 39.5719, -119.1019. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 39 km (24 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Lyon County, NV | 62 km (38 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Churchill County, NV | 72 km (45 mi) | E | earthquakes near Churchill County |
| Carson City, NV | 72 km (45 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Douglas County, NV | 86 km (53 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Pershing County, NV | 113 km (70 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Pershing 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.
- 1.5 15 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 1.6 10 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 2.1 14 km NE of Virginia City, Nevada
- 2.0 11 km NE of Silver Springs, Nevada
- 1.9 6 km SE of Silver Springs, Nevada
- 1.6 Nevada
- 2.1 12 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
- 1.8 11 km SW of Nixon, Nevada
- 1.8 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.6 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.5 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.9 13 km ESE of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.5 9 km ESE of Sparks, Nevada
- 1.8 24 km NNW of Fallon, 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.