QuakeIndex

mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

27 km SSW of Crescent Valley, Nevada

No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.2 mining explosion was recorded 27 km SSW of Crescent Valley, Nevada, at 6:40 pm PST on 15 November 2017 (02:40 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· 0.0 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eureka County 40 kmLander County 45 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
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eureka County, 40 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Cortez Mountains fault, under 1 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 3202 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 21 km NNE of Crescent Valley, Nevada · 49 km NNE 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 40.1774, -116.6701. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eureka County, NV 40 km (25 mi) ESE earthquakes near Eureka County
Lander County, NV 45 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near Lander County
Elko County, NV 154 km (96 mi) NE earthquakes near Elko County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 47 km NW of Eureka, Nevada
  2. 3.8 17 km E of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  3. 2.9 18 km ESE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  4. 2.0 14 km E of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  5. 1.8 19 km N of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  6. 2.4 18 km SSW of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  7. 2.3 30 km S of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  8. 2.5 32 km SSW of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  9. 1.6 32 km SSW of Battle Mountain, Nevada
  10. 2.4 15 km ENE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  11. 3.3 22 km NNE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  12. 1.8 18 km S of Battle Mountain, Nevada
  13. 1.7 52 km NW of Eureka, Nevada
  14. 2.3 19 km NNE of Crescent Valley, Nevada
  15. 2.2 19 km NW of Crescent Valley, 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.