Location:

Period:

15 Jul 2023 20:01:22 - 18 Jul 2023 09:59:16 (2 days 13 hours 57 minutes)

Volcanoes in 100km radius:

Mono Lake Volcanic Field(96km)

Earthquakes:

10 swarms found nearby.

2011

S20110123.1(21.4km)

22 Jan

14 hours

27 earthquakes

2012

S20120819.1(28.2km)

18 Aug

2 days 8 hours

45 earthquakes

2014

S20140421.1(23.4km)

20 Apr

1 day 6 hours

28 earthquakes

S20140426.1(24.7km)

25 Apr

6 days 3 hours

211 earthquakes

2015

S20150918.1(22.6km)

18 Sep

5 days 5 hours

88 earthquakes

S20151218.1(22.6km)

17 Dec

18 hours

29 earthquakes

2016

S20160130.1(22.0km)

30 Jan

1 day 7 hours

28 earthquakes

S20160321.1(20.6km)

21 Mar

17 days 6 hours

779 earthquakes

S20160927.1(19.1km)

26 Sep

3 days 15 hours

44 earthquakes

S20161204.1(25.6km)

3 Dec

1 day 20 hours

47 earthquakes

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Seismic Swarm Near Mina, Nevada: July 2023 Analysis

A seismic swarm designated S20230716.1 occurred approximately 17 km NNW of Mina, Nevada, between 20:01 UTC on 15 July 2023 and 09:59 UTC on 18 July 2023. Over 61 hours and 57 minutes, the sequence comprised 50 earthquakes, with magnitudes ranging from 0.6 to 3.8 and focal depths between 2 and 9 km. The largest event, magnitude 3.8, took place at 04:36 UTC on 16 July at a depth of 8 km.

The swarm exhibited typical characteristics of clustered microseismicity, with events distributed across shallow crustal depths. Initial activity on 15 July consisted of smaller events (magnitudes 0.9–1.4), followed by a peak period on 16 July that included multiple events above magnitude 2.0. Activity gradually declined through 17 and 18 July, concluding with a magnitude 2.1 event.

This sequence aligns with the region's established pattern of episodic swarm activity. Since 2000, ten such swarms have been recorded in the area, occurring in 2011 (1 swarm), 2012 (1), 2014 (2), 2015 (2), and 2016 (4). These events reflect the ongoing tectonic deformation in western Nevada.

The Mina region lies within the Basin and Range Province, where extensional tectonics dominate due to the influence of the Walker Lane shear zone. This structural setting features numerous north- to northwest-striking normal and strike-slip faults that accommodate right-lateral shear and crustal extension. The local geology includes Quaternary alluvial deposits overlying Mesozoic and Cenozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, with active faulting contributing to moderate background seismicity.

Swarm-type sequences in this tectonic environment are commonly associated with fluid migration or aseismic slip along fault networks rather than mainshock-aftershock sequences driven by a single large rupture. Depths recorded in the 2023 swarm are consistent with brittle failure in the upper crust of the Great Basin.

Nevada Seismological Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno (regional seismic monitoring data).
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (tectonic framework of the Walker Lane and Basin and Range Province).