QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 12:47 am PST (08:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) N, at 12:54 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Hawthorne

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Hawthorne, NV, at 11:30 pm PST on 31 December 2021 (07:30 UTC), 4.4 km deep.

USGS: 15 km S of Schurz, Nevada

11:30 pm PST, Dec 31, 2021 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hawthorne Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lyon County 41 kmMineral County 47 kmDouglas County 70 kmAlpine County 88 kmCarson City 89 kmStorey County 93 kmChurchill County 94 kmMono County 100 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
11:30 pm PST on 31 December 2021 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lyon County, 41 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range 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 1773 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,400,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 13 km NW of Schurz, Nevada · 26 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 13 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 13 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 27 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada · 34 km NE 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 38.8103, -118.8107. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lyon County, NV 41 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 47 km (29 mi) SE earthquakes near Mineral County
Douglas County, NV 70 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Douglas County
Alpine County, CA 88 km (55 mi) WSW earthquakes near Alpine County
Carson City, NV 89 km (56 mi) WNW earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 93 km (58 mi) NW earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 27 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  2. 1.5 20 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  3. 1.6 17 km NNW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  4. 2.5 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  5. 2.1 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  6. 2.6 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 12 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  8. 1.6 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  9. 3.0 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  10. 2.2 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  11. 1.9 26 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  12. 1.6 26 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  13. 1.6 California-Nevada border region
  14. 2.1 13 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  15. 2.8 28 km WSW of Hawthorne, 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.