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 1:04 pm PST (21:04 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 34 km (21 mi) east of Hawthorne, NV, at 11:15 pm PST on 6 January 2023 (07:15 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 17 km NW of Mina, Nevada

11:15 pm PST, Jan 6, 2023 · · 8.0 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 Mineral County 16 kmMono County 86 kmEsmeralda County 97 kmLyon County 101 kmChurchill 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
11:15 pm PST on 6 January 2023 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) east of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mineral County, 16 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Indian Head fault, 10 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 1403 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 34 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 5.1 on 2020-12-01 — about 250,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 26 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.8 The 1932 Cedar Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 27 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 27 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 18 km S of Gabbs, Nevada · 37 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 38.5056, -118.2385. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 16 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 86 km (53 mi) SW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 97 km (60 mi) SSE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Lyon County, NV 101 km (63 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 115 km (71 mi) N earthquakes near Churchill County
Douglas County, NV 127 km (79 mi) WNW earthquakes near Douglas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 30 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  2. 1.8 California-Nevada border region
  3. 1.5 30 km SSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  4. 2.0 9 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
  5. 1.9 29 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
  6. 1.6 32 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  7. 3.5 32 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  8. 1.6 Nevada
  9. 1.6 22 km SSW of Gabbs, Nevada
  10. 1.9 Nevada
  11. 2.0 28 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
  12. 2.0 26 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
  13. 1.6 31 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  14. 1.6 25 km S of Hawthorne, Nevada
  15. 1.6 22 km S of Mina, 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.