QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

22 km E of Schurz, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km E of Schurz, Nevada, at 9:54 am PST on 6 March 2021 (17:54 UTC), 5.3 km deep.

· 5.3 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 54 kmLyon County 56 kmChurchill County 66 kmDouglas County 92 kmStorey County 97 kmCarson City 105 kmAlpine County 115 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 1.5 (ml)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 54 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range fault, 24 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 2071 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 8 km (5 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 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.5 on 2016-07-07 — about 32,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 43 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 28 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 49 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 16 km E of Fallon Station, 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 38.9892, -118.5535. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 54 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mineral County
Lyon County, NV 56 km (35 mi) W earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 66 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Churchill County
Douglas County, NV 92 km (57 mi) W earthquakes near Douglas County
Storey County, NV 97 km (61 mi) WNW earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 105 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 5 km SW of Fallon Station, Nevada
  2. 1.5 18 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 2.1 4 km ESE of Schurz, Nevada
  4. 2.6 4 km ESE of Schurz, Nevada
  5. 1.5 13 km S of Schurz, Nevada
  6. 1.5 19 km ENE of Yerington, Nevada
  7. 1.9 1 km E of Schurz, Nevada
  8. 1.6 18 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  9. 1.6 Nevada
  10. 1.5 30 km NW of Gabbs, Nevada
  11. 1.9 16 km WNW of Gabbs, Nevada
  12. 1.5 15 km S of Schurz, Nevada
  13. 1.5 4 km NNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  14. 2.2 1 km E of Schurz, Nevada
  15. 1.6 5 km NNW of Walker Lake, 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.