Location:

Period:

8 Jul 2020 11:29:12 - 9 Jul 2020 23:19:28 (1 day 11 hours 50 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Ubehebe Craters(56km)

Earthquakes:

6 swarms found nearby.

2005

S20050327.1(23.9km)

26 Mar

1 day 13 hours

36 earthquakes

2020

S20200314.1(27.1km)

13 Mar

3 days 4 hours

71 earthquakes

2024

S20240619.1(29.1km)

18 Jun

7 days 14 hours

102 earthquakes

S20241215.1(28.3km)

15 Dec

1 day 15 hours

28 earthquakes

S20241223.1(29.4km)

22 Dec

2 days 7 hours

49 earthquakes

2025

S20250420.2(28.3km)

19 Apr

2 days 13 hours

49 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm S20200709.1: Analysis of Activity Near Goldfield, Nevada

A notable earthquake swarm designated S20200709.1 occurred 29 km southwest of Goldfield, Nevada, between 11:29 on 8 July 2020 and 23:19 on 9 July 2020. The sequence lasted 35 hours and 50 minutes, registering 29 earthquakes according to internal SeismoSight classification.

The swarm initiated with a magnitude 0.9 event at 7 km depth. Activity remained low until the evening of 8 July, when a cluster of events occurred between 21:23 and 22:13. This period included the largest shock of the sequence, a magnitude 3.7 earthquake at 9 km depth, accompanied by events ranging from magnitude 1.3 to 3.0 at depths of 0–16 km. Subsequent events through the night and following day were predominantly below magnitude 2.0, with depths mostly between 5 and 10 km. The final recorded event reached magnitude 2.3 at 6 km depth.

Geologically, the swarm region lies within the Basin and Range Province of western Nevada. This province experiences ongoing crustal extension along numerous normal faults, producing a landscape of horsts and grabens. The area southwest of Goldfield features Cenozoic volcanic rocks, primarily rhyolitic tuffs and andesitic lavas associated with Miocene extension and caldera-related volcanism. Seismic activity here reflects release of tectonic strain along these faults rather than magmatic processes.

Historically, Goldfield developed during the early twentieth-century gold rush, with mining operations intersecting faulted volcanic terrain. Since 2000, only two swarms have been documented in the immediate vicinity: a single swarm in 2005 and the present 2020 sequence. Such episodic clustering is consistent with the diffuse seismicity typical of the northern Walker Lane belt, where strain is accommodated by both strike-slip and normal faulting.

The 2020 swarm exhibited classic characteristics of tectonic swarms, with no dominant mainshock-aftershock pattern and events distributed across a narrow depth range. Depths between 5 and 10 km align with the seismogenic zone in this part of the Basin and Range, where brittle failure occurs above the ductile transition.

References
SeismoSight internal swarm catalog (S20200709.1 data)
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program – Nevada seismicity overview
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology – Regional geologic maps and fault database