QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4mwr

Earthquake near Mesquite, NV

USGS: 30 km SSE of Scenic, Arizona

8:03 am PDT, Aug 28, 2017 · · 5.2 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 87 kmMohave County 93 kmClark County 108 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
8:03 am PDT on 28 August 2017 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) SSE of Mesquite, NV · earthquakes near Mesquite
Magnitude
M 3.4 (mwr)
Depth
5.2 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Washington County, 87 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3014 days ago

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) SSE of Mesquite, NV, at 8:03 am PDT on 28 August 2017 (15:03 UTC). 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× more

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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 36.5457, -113.8755. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, UT 87 km (54 mi) NNE earthquakes near Washington County
Mohave County, AZ 93 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Mohave County
Clark County, NV 108 km (67 mi) WSW earthquakes near Clark County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 27 km S of Saint George, Utah
  2. 1.8 35 km S of Scenic, Arizona
  3. 1.6 Arizona
  4. 3.5 49 km NNE of Meadview, Arizona
  5. 3.8 47 km SSE of Scenic, Arizona
  6. 1.7 3 km NE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  7. 1.7 35 km SSE of Saint George, Utah
  8. 2.5 51 km ESE of Littlefield, Arizona
  9. 1.6 4 km NE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  10. 1.6 34 km S of Saint George, Utah
  11. 2.3 2 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  12. 1.7 6 km NNE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  13. 2.6 24 km ESE of Littlefield, Arizona
  14. 1.8 2 km NE of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  15. 1.9 10 km NE of Beaver Dam, Arizona

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.