QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Henderson, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Henderson in the 24 hours to 2:50 pm PST (22:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) WSW, at 10:15 am PDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Henderson

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south of Henderson, NV, at 1:48 pm PDT on 20 August 2021 (20:48 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13 km S of Henderson, Nevada

11 km (7 mi) SSE of Henderson, NV

1:48 pm PDT, Aug 20, 2021 · · 0.6 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 33 kmMohave County 112 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
1:48 pm PDT on 20 August 2021 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south of Henderson, NV · earthquakes near Henderson
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
0.6 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Clark County, 33 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1910 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Henderson, 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: Boulder City, Whitney, Paradise, Winchester, Enterprise.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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:

  1. 5.0 1 km SE of Boulder City, Nevada · 14 km ENE 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 35.9229, -114.9650. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, NV 33 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Clark County
Mohave County, AZ 112 km (70 mi) ESE earthquakes near Mohave County
San Bernardino County, CA 162 km (101 mi) SW earthquakes near San Bernardino County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 9 km WSW of Henderson, Nevada
  2. 1.6 8 km SSW of Henderson, Nevada
  3. 1.7 17 km N of Summerlin South, Nevada
  4. 2.0 4 km SW of Enterprise, Nevada
  5. 1.8 18 km E of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  6. 2.1 14 km SSE of Enterprise, Nevada
  7. 2.4 11 km ESE of Enterprise, Nevada
  8. 1.8 8 km SSW of Whitney, Nevada
  9. 2.3 3 km SSW of Enterprise, Nevada
  10. 1.9 8 km SE of Enterprise, Nevada
  11. 1.7 24 km E of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  12. 3.3 24 km ENE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  13. 1.5 24 km E of Boulder City, Nevada
  14. 1.9 9 km SSE of Enterprise, Nevada
  15. 2.4 3 km ENE of Blue Diamond, 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.