The Cedar Mountain earthquake of 1932 was one of the largest seismic events in the US state of Nevada. The 7.3 earthquake struck at Cedar Mountain in Western Nevada. Shaking was felt as far as Oregon, Southern California, and the Rocky Mountains area. Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the United States due to ongoing rifting occurring within the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...

Extension Extension, extend or extended may refer to: Mathematics Logic or set theory * Axiom of extensionality * Extensible cardinal * Extension (model theory) * Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate * E ...

or thinning of the crust has resulted in numerous faults accommodating strain, at the same time, producing earthquakes. Since the earthquake occurred in a remote part of the state, damage was limited and no deaths were reported.

Tectonic setting

Western Nevada lies along the edge of the geologic province known as the

Basin and Range Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

. This area of

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

ing within the North American continent does so in a northwest-southeast direction.

of the crust has resulted in a diffuse area of low slip rate faults. This network of predominantly

strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

and

normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson * ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie * ''Norma ...

faults termed the Central Nevada Seismic Belt (CNSB) occasionally undergoes large "beltlike" earthquake sequences to help accommodate regional stresses with multiple sequences having occurred in the past 13,000 years. This earthquake occurred in the beginning portion of the most recent earthquake sequence, with the

1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake The 1915 Pleasant Valley earthquake occurred at in north-central Nevada. With a moment magnitude of 6.8, a surface wave magnitude of 7.7, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''), it was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the s ...

and

1954 Rainbow Mountain-Fairview Peak-Dixie Valley earthquakes In 1954, the state of Nevada was struck by a series of earthquakes that began with three magnitude 6.0+ events in July and August that preceded the 7.1–7.3 mainshock and M 6.9 aftershock, both on December 12. All five earthquakes are among the ...

also being associated. Further to the west near the border with California, earthquakes become predominantly strike slip along a

shear zone In geology, a shear zone is a thin zone within the Earth's crust or upper mantle that has been strongly deformed, due to the walls of rock on either side of the zone slipping past each other. In the upper crust, where rock is brittle, the shear ...

known as the

Walker Lane The Walker Lane is a geologic trough roughly aligned with the California/Nevada border southward to where Death Valley intersects the Garlock Fault, a major left lateral, or sinistral, strike-slip fault. The north-northwest end of the Walker La ...

which has hosted earthquakes such as the

1872 Owens Valley earthquake The 1872 Owens Valley earthquake – also known as the Lone Pine earthquake – struck on March 26 at in the Owens Valley (California, along the east side of the Sierra Nevada), with the epicenter near the town of Lone Pine. Its magnitude has ...

Earthquake

The earthquake occurred along a zone of strike-slip faults creating surface ruptures long and wide, trending southeast from the epicenter. Rupture was distributed across faults spanning three valleys and several mountain fronts including the Stewart-Monte Cristo Valley Fault Zone, and several small, unnamed faults in the Stewart and Gabbs Valleys. Maximum displacement was recorded at , with some dip-slip (normal) offset at . During the earthquake, many eyewitness reported lightning bolts and "mysterious lights" in

Carson Valley Douglas County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of th2020 Census the population was 49,488. Its county seat is Minden. Douglas County comprises the Gardnerville Ranchos, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. Shaking reached the maximum of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale in Nevada, and overall, was felt for an area size of 850,000 square km. This complicated strike-slip earthquake between two mountain ranges was similar to that of the Owens Valley earthquake of 1872.

Impact

At the time of the earthquake, the region was uninhabited however, an adobe and stone cabin were destroyed with no injuries. Some damage to mine property and cabins were observed. At Mina,

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

and Luning, the earthquake collapsed chimneys and shattered windows. Chimney damage were also reported in Fallon and the

Reese River Valley Reese may refer to: Places Germany * Reese, Germany, a hamlet in Lower Saxony on the River Aue United States * Reese, Michigan, United States, a community east of Saginaw * Reese, Pennsylvania, United States, a community in Blair County * Reese, ...

. In

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

, a man suffered a fractured skull when the earthquake threw him against a train engine. The shaking created panic in

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

and even in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Impact

References

Further reading