Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
61 km W of Austin, Nevada
Yes. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 61 km W of Austin, Nevada, at 3:28 pm PST on 16 January 2021 (23:28 UTC), 1.4 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Churchill County, 43 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Eastgate fault, 13 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 Fallon, NV
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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 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 23 km (14 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.1 on 2019-04-28 — about 180 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 35 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.8 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 36 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.7 47 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.3 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 36 km SW 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 39.4632, -117.7779. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Churchill County, NV | 43 km (26 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Churchill County |
| Lander County, NV | 79 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lander County |
| Mineral County, NV | 119 km (74 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Pershing County, NV | 121 km (75 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Pershing County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 58 km N of Gabbs, Nevada
- 1.6 42 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
- 2.1 48 km W of Austin, Nevada
- 1.8 51 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 1.7 61 km W of Austin, Nevada
- 2.4 48 km NW of Austin, Nevada
- 2.3 39 km WSW of Austin, Nevada
- 2.2 46 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 1.5 27 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 1.5 56 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
- 1.5 54 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada
- 3.3 67 km SE of Lovelock, Nevada
- 1.5 39 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada
- 1.9 Nevada
- 2.4 27 km WNW of Kingston, 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.