QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Lovelock, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Lovelock in the 24 hours to 7:08 pm PST (03:08 UTC). The last one was M 5.2, 109 km (68 mi) SSW, at 1:17 am PDT on 1 May 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,875 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lovelock

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) south of Lovelock, NV, at 9:16 pm PDT on 20 October 2026 (04:16 UTC), 2.3 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 35 km S of Lovelock, Nevada

9:16 pm PDT, Oct 20, 2026 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Churchill County 38 kmPershing County 64 kmStorey County 108 kmLander County 115 kmLyon County 117 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:16 pm PDT on 20 October 2026 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) south of Lovelock, NV · earthquakes near Lovelock
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Churchill County, 38 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Rainbow Mountain 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 23 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Lovelock, 35 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1954 Dixie Valley, Nevada Earthquake · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 40 km S of Lovelock, Nevada · 9 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 29 km NE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 32 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 Western Nevada · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 27 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 36 km S 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 39.8686, -118.3934. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Churchill County, NV 38 km (24 mi) SSE earthquakes near Churchill County
Pershing County, NV 64 km (39 mi) N earthquakes near Pershing County
Storey County, NV 108 km (67 mi) WSW earthquakes near Storey County
Lander County, NV 115 km (71 mi) E earthquakes near Lander County
Lyon County, NV 117 km (73 mi) SW earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 141 km (87 mi) SW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.