Location:

Period:

1 Apr 2016 19:27:32 - 3 Apr 2016 13:29:35 (1 day 18 hours 2 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Ubehebe Craters(35km)

Earthquakes:

8 swarms found nearby.

2004

S20041119.1(29.2km)

19 Nov

1 day 6 hours

26 earthquakes

2006

S20060526.1(29.2km)

26 May

4 days 17 hours

173 earthquakes

2009

S20090730.1(29.3km)

29 Jul

2 days 2 hours

46 earthquakes

S20090811.1(29.9km)

10 Aug

2 days 7 hours

47 earthquakes

2010

S20100930.1(29.5km)

29 Sep

24 days 14 hours

754 earthquakes

2011

S20110418.1(29.6km)

17 Apr

2 days 12 hours

62 earthquakes

2015

S20150214.1(19.7km)

14 Feb

9 days 9 hours

434 earthquakes

2017

S20170612.1(1.3km)

11 Jun

3 days 12 hours

77 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm S20160402.2: Analysis of Activity Near Beatty, Nevada

A seismic swarm designated S20160402.2 occurred approximately 33 km northwest of Beatty, Nevada, between 19:27 UTC on 1 April 2016 and 13:29 UTC on 3 April 2016. The sequence lasted 42 hours and 2 minutes and included 30 earthquakes, with the majority registering magnitudes below 1.0 and depths concentrated between 7 and 9 km. The largest event reached magnitude 1.7 at a depth of 8 km on 2 April at 02:11 UTC. Negative magnitudes, down to -0.4, reflect the high sensitivity of local monitoring networks capable of detecting microseismicity.

The temporal distribution showed peak activity in the early hours of 2 April, with events occurring at intervals of minutes to hours before tapering off by midday on 3 April. Depths remained relatively consistent, suggesting a compact source volume within the shallow crust. Such patterns are characteristic of swarm sequences, where energy release occurs through numerous small events rather than a dominant mainshock-aftershock progression.

The Beatty region lies within the Basin and Range Province of southwestern Nevada, an area defined by extensional tectonics and distributed normal faulting. This tectonic setting produces frequent low-magnitude seismicity along active fault systems associated with regional extension. Historical records indicate seven prior swarms in the vicinity since 2000, occurring in 2004, 2006, 2009 (two events), 2010, 2011, and 2015. These recurrent episodes point to persistent crustal strain accumulation and release along favorably oriented structures.

Geological context includes proximity to volcanic and faulted terrain influenced by Miocene extension and later Quaternary activity. Earthquake depths in the 7–9 km range align with typical brittle failure zones in this part of the province, where seismicity often clusters without producing surface rupture at these magnitudes.

The 2016 swarm provides further evidence of ongoing microseismic behavior in a region monitored for both natural tectonic processes and legacy effects from historical underground testing. Continued observation of such sequences contributes to refined models of local fault mechanics and seismic hazard assessment.

References

SeismoSight internal swarm classification database
USGS Earthquake Catalog (historical Nevada seismicity)
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology regional tectonic summaries