Location:

Period:

17 Mar 2020 17:25:12 - 21 Mar 2020 15:41:43 (3 days 22 hours 16 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Mono Lake Volcanic Field(61km), Mono-Inyo Craters(69km), Mammoth Mountain(81km)

Earthquakes:

17 swarms found nearby.

2000

S20000622.1(28.9km)

21 Jun

2 days 3 hours

130 earthquakes

2006

S20060909.2(17.0km)

8 Sep

1 day 5 hours

45 earthquakes

2014

S20140516.1(13.0km)

16 May

9 hours

55 earthquakes

2015

S20151020.1(19.1km)

20 Oct

1 hours

28 earthquakes

2016

S20161204.1(27.4km)

3 Dec

1 day 20 hours

47 earthquakes

2020

S20200308.1(2.1km)

8 Mar

2 days 23 hours

77 earthquakes

S20200516.1(20.7km)

15 May

32 days 11 hours

1150 earthquakes

S20200516.2(28.2km)

15 May

22 hours

26 earthquakes

S20200528.1(28.1km)

27 May

17 days 11 hours

384 earthquakes

S20200615.1(24.7km)

14 Jun

31 days 0 hours

472 earthquakes

S20200708.2(21.5km)

7 Jul

5 days 6 hours

63 earthquakes

S20200726.1(21.2km)

25 Jul

11 days 0 hours

125 earthquakes

S20201211.1(22.3km)

10 Dec

1 day 1 hours

42 earthquakes

2021

S20210101.1(21.3km)

1 Jan

16 hours

24 earthquakes

S20210115.1(29.7km)

15 Jan

1 day 14 hours

89 earthquakes

S20210117.2(19.6km)

17 Jan

1 day 7 hours

25 earthquakes

2022

S20220123.1(13.6km)

22 Jan

6 days 16 hours

114 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm S20200318.1 Near Mina, Nevada

Seismic swarm S20200318.1 occurred 34 km southwest of Mina, Nevada, in the western Basin and Range Province. The sequence began at 17:25 on 17 March 2020 and concluded at 15:41 on 21 March 2020, spanning 94 hours and 16 minutes. During this interval, 75 earthquakes were recorded, with magnitudes ranging from -0.3 to 2.1 and focal depths predominantly between 0 and 12 km. The events clustered tightly in both space and time, a hallmark of swarm activity rather than a mainshock-aftershock sequence. The largest events reached magnitude 2.1 on 18 March at 05:53 and again on 20 March at 21:50, both at shallow depths of 6 km and 3 km, respectively. Most activity remained below magnitude 1.0, consistent with low-strain release typical of swarm episodes in the region. Western Nevada lies within the Walker Lane belt, a northwest-trending zone of distributed dextral shear that accommodates approximately 20 percent of Pacific-North America relative plate motion. The belt features numerous active normal and strike-slip faults superimposed on Basin and Range extension. This tectonic setting produces frequent earthquake swarms driven by fluid migration and aseismic slip along fault networks rather than large stress drops from major ruptures. Historical records maintained by SeismoSight document six swarms in the same area since 2000. These occurred in 2000, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020, indicating recurrent swarm behavior on local fault structures. The 2020 swarm fits this established pattern of episodic, low-magnitude activity without escalation to damaging events. Depth distribution shows the majority of hypocenters between 3 km and 10 km, placing activity within the seismogenic upper crust. Shallow depths and small magnitudes suggest brittle failure at low confining pressures, possibly facilitated by hydrothermal fluids common in the Mina region. No surface rupture or significant ground deformation has been associated with this or prior swarms in the catalog. The sequence remained confined to a small source volume, underscoring the localized nature of strain release along secondary faults within the broader Walker Lane shear zone.

References

SeismoSight internal swarm classification database
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program regional tectonic summaries
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology fault and seismicity compilations