QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Mesquite, NV

USGS: 45 km NW of Beaver Dam, Arizona

4:30 am PDT, May 18, 2016 · · 0.3 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mesquite Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 67 kmLincoln County 71 kmIron County 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
4:30 am PDT on 18 May 2016 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) NNW of Mesquite, NV · earthquakes near Mesquite
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washington County, 67 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3015 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) NNW of Mesquite, NV, at 4:30 am PDT on 18 May 2016 (11:30 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 4.2 on 2016-01-15 — about 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 38 km ESE of Caliente, Nevada · 24 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 19 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 37 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada · 37 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 36 km SE of Caliente, Nevada · 19 km N 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 37.2310, -114.2400. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, UT 67 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Washington County
Lincoln County, NV 71 km (44 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Iron County, UT 112 km (69 mi) NE earthquakes near Iron County
Clark County, NV 132 km (82 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clark County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 19 km WSW of Enterprise, Utah
  2. 1.7 18 km N of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  3. 2.4 15 km N of Beaver Dam, Arizona
  4. 1.8 49 km S of Caliente, Nevada
  5. 1.9 10 km NW of Mesquite, Nevada
  6. 1.8 9 km NNW of Bunkerville, Nevada
  7. 3.0 1 km W of Caliente, Nevada
  8. 1.8 1 km W of Caliente, Nevada
  9. 2.1 35 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada
  10. 1.6 37 km S of Caliente, Nevada
  11. 1.9 41 km ESE of Alamo, Nevada
  12. 1.5 32 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada
  13. 1.8 30 km SSW of Caliente, Nevada
  14. 2.1 36 km W of Veyo, Utah
  15. 1.8 31 km W of Veyo, Utah

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.