QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Caliente, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Caliente in the 24 hours to 11:32 am PST (19:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 162 km (101 mi) NNW, at 12:01 am PDT on 27 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Caliente

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Caliente, NV, at 1:14 am PST on 8 January 2026 (09:14 UTC), 4.4 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada

1:14 am PST, Jan 8, 2026 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 28 kmWashington County 101 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
1:14 am PST on 8 January 2026 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Caliente, NV · earthquakes near Caliente
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 28 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 308 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Caliente, 12 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× 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 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 4.2 on 2019-06-30 — about 7,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 38 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 36 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 37 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada · 26 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 36 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 37.5213, -114.5835. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, NV 28 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Washington County, UT 101 km (63 mi) ESE earthquakes near Washington County
Iron County, UT 120 km (75 mi) ENE earthquakes near Iron County
Beaver County, UT 150 km (93 mi) NE earthquakes near Beaver County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11 km NW of Beaverdam, Nevada
  2. 1.5 15 km ESE of Hiko, Nevada
  3. 2.4 5 km SW of Pioche, Nevada
  4. 1.8 9 km NW of Beaverdam, Nevada
  5. 1.6 22 km SSE of Caliente, Nevada
  6. 1.6 50 km S of Caliente, Nevada
  7. 1.7 21 km ESE of Alamo, Nevada
  8. 1.5 31 km ESE of Alamo, Nevada
  9. 1.8 27 km E of Alamo, Nevada
  10. 1.9 27 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  11. 1.8 15 km ENE of Hiko, Nevada
  12. 1.7 45 km ESE of Alamo, Nevada
  13. 2.3 28 km SE of Caliente, Nevada
  14. 1.7 21 km E of Alamo, Nevada
  15. 1.6 27 km SSE of Caliente, 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.