QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Beatty, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Beatty in the 24 hours to 2:44 pm PST (22:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 2:01 pm PDT on 28 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Beatty

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) northwest of Beatty, NV, at 11:23 pm PST on 29 January 2026 (07:23 UTC), 5.2 km deep.

USGS: 38 km NW of Beatty, Nevada

11:23 pm PST, Jan 29, 2026 · · 5.2 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Inyo County 65 kmEsmeralda County 88 kmNye County 112 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
11:23 pm PST on 29 January 2026 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) northwest of Beatty, NV · earthquakes near Beatty
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
5.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Inyo County, 65 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Northern Death Valley fault, 25 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 286 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 Beatty, 38 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 8.1 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 1,300,000× 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 8.1 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 4.3 on 2023-05-21 — about 9,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 37 km SSE of Goldfield, Nevada · 32 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 Near Goldfield, Nevada · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 39 km SSE of Goldfield, Nevada · 31 km N 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 37.1023, -117.1165. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Inyo County, CA 65 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Inyo County
Esmeralda County, NV 88 km (55 mi) NNW earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Nye County, NV 112 km (70 mi) NNE earthquakes near Nye County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 51 km NE of Keeler, California
  2. 1.5 48 km SSE of Silver Peak, Nevada
  3. 1.9 54 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  4. 1.5 51 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  5. 2.1 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  6. 1.6 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  7. 2.0 51 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  8. 1.6 35 km SSE of Goldfield, Nevada
  9. 1.6 35 km SSE of Goldfield, Nevada
  10. 1.8 61 km WNW of Beatty, Nevada
  11. 2.6 17 km SSW of Beatty, Nevada
  12. 2.6 46 km NW of Beatty, Nevada
  13. 1.5 63 km ENE of Independence, California
  14. 1.6 46 km SSW of Goldfield, Nevada
  15. 1.6 57 km SSW of Goldfield, 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.