M3.0 earthquake 50 km S of Goldfield, Nevada

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 50 km S of Goldfield, Nevada on Wed, Dec 12, 1990, 5:01 PM PST (01:01 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M3.5 12km E of Lone Pine, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.0	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
2.87	Mc	Southern California Seismic Network	Final · 20 stations

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 18 in the 60 days after this one and 11 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0004j1z (also filed as ci2008804). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 7:52 PM UTC.