QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Fernley, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fernley in the 24 hours to 1:22 pm PST (21:22 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) east-southeast of Fernley, NV, at 2:24 pm PST on 20 December 2020 (22:24 UTC), 6.2 km deep. 12 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 15 km ESE of Fernley, Nevada

66 km (41 mi) E of Reno, NV · 55 km (34 mi) E of Sparks, NV

2:24 pm PST, Dec 20, 2020 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fernley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 41 kmLyon County 63 kmChurchill County 70 kmCarson City 75 kmDouglas County 88 kmPershing 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
2:24 pm PST on 20 December 2020 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) east-southeast of Fernley, NV · earthquakes near Fernley
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
12 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Storey County, 41 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Hot Springs Mountains fault, 3 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

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Fernley, 15 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.

Likely felt in: Fernley 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 24 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 49 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 24 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada · 47 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 39.5776, -119.0761. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 41 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Storey County
Lyon County, NV 63 km (39 mi) S earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 70 km (43 mi) E earthquakes near Churchill County
Carson City, NV 75 km (46 mi) SW earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 88 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Pershing County, NV 111 km (69 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. 1.9 13 km NNE of Virginia City, Nevada
  2. 1.5 Nevada
  3. 1.6 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  4. 1.6 19 km WSW of Fallon, Nevada
  5. 1.5 15 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  6. 1.6 10 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  7. 2.1 14 km NE of Virginia City, Nevada
  8. 2.0 11 km NE of Silver Springs, Nevada
  9. 1.9 6 km SE of Silver Springs, Nevada
  10. 1.6 Nevada
  11. 2.1 12 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  12. 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  13. 1.8 11 km SW of Nixon, Nevada
  14. 1.8 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
  15. 1.6 14 km E of Fernley, 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.