QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Fernley, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fernley in the 24 hours to 2:38 pm PST (22:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 14 km (9 mi) E, at 7:39 pm PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fernley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Fernley, NV, at 11:47 pm PDT on 7 August 2024 (06:47 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 16 km E of Fernley, Nevada

67 km (42 mi) E of Reno, NV · 56 km (35 mi) E of Sparks, NV

11:47 pm PDT, Aug 7, 2024 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fernley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 43 kmLyon County 64 kmChurchill County 69 kmCarson City 76 kmDouglas County 89 kmPershing County 110 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
11:47 pm PDT on 7 August 2024 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) east of Fernley, NV · earthquakes near Fernley
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 43 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Hot Springs Mountains 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 826 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Fernley, 16 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: Silver Springs, Fallon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 16 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 24 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 16 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada · 50 km ESE 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 39.5868, -119.0661. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 43 km (27 mi) WSW earthquakes near Storey County
Lyon County, NV 64 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 69 km (43 mi) E earthquakes near Churchill County
Carson City, NV 76 km (47 mi) SW earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 89 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Pershing County, NV 110 km (68 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pershing County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 19 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  2. 1.8 22 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  3. 1.8 22 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  4. 2.0 22 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  5. 1.6 23 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  6. 1.8 23 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  7. 2.4 21 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  8. 3.3 21 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  9. 4.0 23 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  10. 1.6 21 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  11. 1.9 21 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  12. 3.0 21 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  13. 1.6 22 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  14. 2.0 23 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
  15. 2.3 22 km NNE of Yerington, 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.