Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Carlin, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Carlin in the 24 hours to 10:52 pm PST (06:52 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 72 km (45 mi) NW, at 9:01 am PDT on 31 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carlin
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) southwest of Carlin, NV, at 10:39 pm PST on 14 January 2021 (06:39 UTC), 12 km deep.
USGS: 15 km ENE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- When
- 10:39 pm PST on 14 January 2021 ()
- Where
- 38 km (23 mi) southwest of Carlin, NV · earthquakes near Carlin
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Eureka County, 56 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Cortez 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 2056 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carlin, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carlin, 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlin, 38 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 21 km NNE of Crescent Valley, Nevada · 16 km NNW 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 40.4689, -116.4134. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka County, NV | 56 km (35 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Eureka County |
| Lander County, NV | 83 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lander County |
| Elko County, NV | 117 km (72 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Elko County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Carlin, Nevada
- 2.0 26 km W of Carlin, Nevada
- 2.1 27 km SSE of Carlin, Nevada
- 1.9 18 km NW of Carlin, Nevada
- 2.6 28 km SSE of Carlin, Nevada
- 1.6 32 km W of Carlin, Nevada
- 2.8 27 km W of Carlin, Nevada
- 3.8 17 km E of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 2.6 17 km SE of Carlin, Nevada
- 2.9 18 km ESE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 2.0 14 km E of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 1.8 19 km N of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 2.4 18 km SSW of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 2.3 30 km S of Crescent Valley, Nevada
- 2.5 32 km SSW of Crescent Valley, 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.