The Cedar Mountains, also known as the Hardscrabble Mountains, are located in

western Nevada Western Nevada (WNV) is a region and the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada that includes Reno, Carson City, Carson Valley and Virginia City. Lyon County and Churchill County are sometimes also referred to as part of Western Nevada ...

in the United States. The mountain range lay north of the

Monte Cristo Range The Monte Cristo Range is located in western Nevada in the United States. The range lies southeast of the Excelsior Mountains and east and north of Highway 95 in Esmeralda County. The Bureau of Land Management manages 99.9% of the range. Sagebru ...

about north of Tonopah in Mineral County and its highest point is Little Pilot Peak. This mountain range is situated in 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 ...

region, which is part of the boundary between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, similar to the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

in to the west in California. Cedar Mountains was named for the cedar timber in the area. It was the site of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on December 20, 1932, that was felt throughout much of the west.

1932 earthquake

The earthquake originated in an uninhabited desert region. Mines and ore-treating plants were damaged and two cabins, one of stone and one of

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

, were destroyed. Shocks were felt in the Nevada towns of Tonopah, Mina, Luning and Fallon, as well as others. Reports included cracks in the ground (Luning) and downed chimneys (Mineral County, Luning and Mina). Boulders were dislodged from hillsides and cliffs in the area, large landslides were reported and

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

changes were observed in local springs and wells. No loss of life or injuries were reported. There was one

foreshock A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic eventthe mainshockand is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as ''foreshock'', ''mainshock'' or aftershock is only possible after the full sequenc ...

, and the 7.2 mainshock was followed by many

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...

s; the main shock was felt from the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and from

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia thr ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California.

References

{{reflist Mountain ranges of Nevada Mountain ranges of Esmeralda County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Mineral County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Nye County, Nevada