QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4ml

Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 1:11 pm PST (21:11 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) east of Hawthorne, NV, at 7:16 pm PDT on 4 July 2023 (02:16 UTC), 10 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km NNW of Mina, Nevada

7:16 pm PDT, Jul 4, 2023 · · 10 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 23 kmMono County 94 kmEsmeralda County 96 kmLyon County 105 kmChurchill County 111 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
7:16 pm PDT on 4 July 2023 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) east of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
Magnitude
M 3.4 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Mineral County, 23 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Benton Spring fault, 7 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 1160 days ago

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 57 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 41 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.

Likely felt in: Hawthorne 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× more

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 6.5 on 2020-05-15 — about 45,000 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 · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 34 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 34 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 10 km SW of Gabbs, Nevada · 32 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 18 km S of Gabbs, Nevada · 28 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 38.5416, -118.1536. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 23 km (14 mi) W earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 94 km (58 mi) SW earthquakes near Mono County
Esmeralda County, NV 96 km (60 mi) SSE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Lyon County, NV 105 km (65 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 111 km (69 mi) N earthquakes near Churchill County
Storey County, NV 155 km (96 mi) NW earthquakes near Storey County

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. 1.9 32 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  2. 2.5 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  3. 2.0 17 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
  4. 2.1 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  5. 1.9 26 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
  6. 2.6 16 km E of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 12 km NE of Hawthorne, Nevada
  8. 2.6 33 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  9. 1.6 14 km WNW of Mina, Nevada
  10. 1.8 27 km S of Mina, Nevada
  11. 1.8 Nevada
  12. 2.7 26 km SSE of Mina, Nevada
  13. 1.5 Nevada
  14. 1.5 31 km SE of Mina, Nevada
  15. 1.6 29 km SSE 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.