Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Hawthorne, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Hawthorne in the 24 hours to 5:36 pm PST (01:36 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 18 km (11 mi) south of Hawthorne, NV, at 11:47 pm PST on 20 February 2026 (07:47 UTC), 4.2 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 17 km S of Hawthorne, Nevada
- When
- 11:47 pm PST on 20 February 2026 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) south of Hawthorne, NV · earthquakes near Hawthorne
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mineral County, 23 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wassuk Range fault, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 265 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hawthorne, NV
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Alerts are on for .
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Hawthorne, 18 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 5.9 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,300,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 22 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.5 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Aftershock) · 18 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 38.3650, -118.5931. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral County, NV | 23 km (14 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Mineral County |
| Mono County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mono County |
| Lyon County, NV | 90 km (56 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Esmeralda County, NV | 106 km (66 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Esmeralda County |
| Douglas County, NV | 107 km (66 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Alpine County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 21 km WNW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.7 16 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
- 2.1 16 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.6 30 km ENE of Bridgeport, California
- 1.6 14 km N of Walker Lake, Nevada
- 1.7 32 km SE of Bodie, CA
- 1.9 22 km W of Mina, Nevada
- 2.2 30 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.5 32 km SE of Bodie, CA
- 3.0 33 km N of Benton, California
- 2.1 39 km E of Lee Vining, CA
- 1.7 20 km SE of Hawthorne, Nevada
- 1.9 27 km SE of Bodie, CA
- 2.2 10 km NNW of Mina, Nevada
- 1.6 18 km SSE of Hawthorne, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.