QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Fallon, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fallon in the 24 hours to 11:32 am PST (19:32 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 24 km (15 mi) SW, at 12:51 am PDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fallon

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) southeast of Fallon, NV, at 4:57 pm PDT on 15 October 2026 (23:57 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 25 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada

4:57 pm PDT, Oct 15, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 32 kmLyon County 70 kmMineral County 87 kmStorey County 93 kmDouglas County 108 kmCarson City 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
4:57 pm PDT on 15 October 2026 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) southeast of Fallon, NV · earthquakes near Fallon
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 32 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Sand Springs Range fault, 15 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 28 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 Fallon, 33 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 8.7 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 5.7 on 2026-04-14 — about 1,100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 23 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 The 1954 Fairview Peak, Nevada Earthquake · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 10 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 16 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 13 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 48 km NNW of Gabbs, Nevada · 30 km E 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 39.2969, -118.4640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Churchill County
Lyon County, NV 70 km (44 mi) WSW earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 87 km (54 mi) S earthquakes near Mineral County
Storey County, NV 93 km (57 mi) W earthquakes near Storey County
Douglas County, NV 108 km (67 mi) WSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Carson City, NV 112 km (69 mi) W earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 24 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada
  2. 1.5 26 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  3. 1.8 25 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  4. 2.4 21 km ESE of Silver Springs, 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.

Revisions

USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.

What changedFromToWhen
review statusautomaticreviewed
longitude-118.46-118.46
latitude39.2939.3
depth11.9411.86
magnitude1.51.64

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.