QuakeIndex

Fault · California, Nevada

East Carson Valley fault

48 kmlong (30 mi), as mapped
< 0.2 mm/yrhow fast it slips
last 150 yearssince it last broke the surface
28quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

The two sides move less than 0.2 mm a year — under 2 cm a century. Slow faults can still produce large earthquakes, just rarely.

It has broken the ground surface within the last 150 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.5 in 1887 (Near Carson City, Nevada) — about 180,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 85 kilotons of TNT.

This week vs. its last ten years

0/100

quiet

0 quakes of M1.5+ within 5 km of the trace in the last 7 days — busier than 0% of weeks since 2016. A normal week: 0–0.

Computed from the USGS catalogue · a description of the past, not a forecast · method

San Andreas faultGreat Valley thrust fault systemFoothills fault systemWassuk Range faultSmith Valley faultMohawk Valley faultCarson lineamentTahoe-Sierra frontal faultWest Tahoe-Dollar Point faultAntelope Valley faultUpper Long Valley faultHot Springs Mountains faultMount Rose faultDog Valley faultPolaris faultNorth Tahoe faultSagouse faultGenoa faultIncline Village faultRobinson Creek faultLittle Valley faultCarson City faultKings Canyon faultWest Walker River faultNorthern Virginia Range fault M 6.5 · 1887 · Near Carson City, Nevada M 6.2 · 1869 · Near Carson City, Nevada M 6.0 · 1868 · Near Virginia City, Nevada
The East Carson Valley fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 28 of the M2.5+ earthquakes within 10 km of it since 2016 (dots), and the epicentres of the large historic earthquakes recorded near it (rings). Traces: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Historic epicentres are estimates.

Every year since 2016

Earthquakes of M2.5+ with an epicentre within 10 km of the mapped trace. Near is not the same as on: some will have slipped on neighbouring faults.

The big ones recorded near it

  1. M 6.5 Near Carson City, Nevada
    June 3, 1887 · epicentre 14 km from the trace
  2. M 6.2 Near Carson City, Nevada
    December 27, 1869 · epicentre 7 km from the trace
  3. M 6.0 Near Virginia City, Nevada
    May 30, 1868 · epicentre 21 km from the trace
  4. M 4.5 5 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
    March 21, 2020 · epicentre 3 km from the trace

Before 1973 from the USGS ComCat historical catalogue (within 25 km; epicentres of old earthquakes are estimates). Since 2016, M4+ within 10 km.

Most recent near it

  1. M 2.8 18 km NNW of Walker, CA
    2025-10-12 · 10 km from the trace
  2. M 2.7 7 km SE of Markleeville, CA
    2025-10-08 · 6 km from the trace
  3. M 2.5 7 km SSW of Markleeville, CA
    2025-08-06 · 10 km from the trace
  4. M 2.8 3 km W of Markleeville, CA
    2025-04-16 · 8 km from the trace
  5. M 3.0 10 km SSE of Carter Springs, Nevada
    2025-02-20 · 1 km from the trace
  6. M 3.4 3 km ESE of Mesa Vista, CA
    2024-12-17 · 7 km from the trace

Neighbouring faults

Fault trace, slip rate and age: USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database (public domain), simplified for the web. Earthquakes: USGS ComCat. QuakeIndex does not forecast earthquakes; a fault's history describes the past. For early warning use ShakeAlert.