QuakeIndex

Fault · Nevada

Spanish Springs Valley fault

23 kmlong (14 mi), as mapped
< 0.2 mm/yrhow fast it slips
< 15,000 yearssince it last broke the surface
11quakes 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.

Its most recent surface rupture is younger than 15,000 years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.0 in 1914 (Near Reno, Nevada) — about 32,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 15 kilotons of TNT.

This week vs. its last ten years

Too quiet to rank: fewer than half a year's worth of weeks with any M1.5+ quake within 5 km, in ten years. A single quake here would read as "unusual", so we do not score it.

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

San Andreas faultGreat Valley thrust fault systemFoothills fault systemWassuk Range faultHoney Lake faultSmith Valley faultMohawk Valley faultCarson lineamentWarm Springs Valley faultTahoe-Sierra frontal faultBonham Ranch faultWest Tahoe-Dollar Point faultGranite Springs Valley faultPyramid Lake faultUpper Long Valley faultDry Valley-Smoke Creek Ranch faultEast Carson Valley faultHot Springs Mountains faultMount Rose faultDog Valley faultPolaris faultNorth Tahoe faultIncline Village faultOlinghouse faultFort Sage faultLittle Valley faultCarson City faultKings Canyon faultPeavine Peak faultTerraced Hills faultNorthern Virginia Range fault M 6.0 · 1914 · Near Reno, Nevada
The Spanish Springs Valley fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 11 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 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada
    February 18, 1914 · epicentre 20 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 1 km WNW of Sun Valley, Nevada
    2026-09-23 · 9 km from the trace
  2. M 2.7 6 km ESE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
    2023-12-19 · 10 km from the trace
  3. M 3.1 6 km ESE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
    2023-10-20 · 9 km from the trace
  4. M 3.6 Nevada
    2023-10-19 · 10 km from the trace
  5. M 2.9 6 km ESE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
    2023-10-15 · 10 km from the trace
  6. M 2.5 Nevada
    2023-08-20 · 8 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.