QuakeIndex

Fault · California

Tahoe-Sierra frontal fault

58 kmlong (36 mi), as mapped
not measuredhow fast it slips
< 1.6 million yearssince it last broke the surface
25quakes of M2.5+ within 10 km since 2016

In plain English

It has moved within the last 1.6 million years.

The largest earthquake recorded near it was M 6.3 in 1857 (California-Nevada Border east of Truckee) — about 89,000 times the energy of an M3.0, the size people start to feel. It released about 43 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 systemSmith Valley faultMohawk Valley faultCarson lineamentWest Tahoe-Dollar Point faultAntelope Valley faultUpper Long Valley faultEast Carson Valley faultMount Rose faultDog Valley faultPolaris faultNorth Tahoe faultGenoa faultSpanish Springs Valley faultIncline Village faultOlinghouse faultLittle Valley faultCarson City faultKings Canyon faultPeavine Peak faultWest Walker River faultNorthern Virginia Range fault M 6.3 · 1857 · California-Nevada Border east of Truckee
The Tahoe-Sierra frontal fault as mapped at the surface (glowing), with the other mapped faults nearby, 25 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 6.3 California-Nevada Border east of Truckee
    September 3, 1857 · epicentre 20 km from the trace
  2. M 4.2 10km SE of Dollar Point, CA
    May 28, 2021 · epicentre 9 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 2.9 8 km SSE of Dollar Point, CA
    2024-07-21 · 9 km from the trace
  2. M 2.9 8 km SSE of Dollar Point, CA
    2024-07-21 · 9 km from the trace
  3. M 3.3 8 km SSE of Dollar Point, CA
    2024-07-21 · 9 km from the trace
  4. M 2.7 8 km SSE of Dollar Point, CA
    2024-07-20 · 9 km from the trace
  5. M 2.9 10km SE of Dollar Point, CA
    2021-06-19 · 9 km from the trace
  6. M 2.7 10km SE of Dollar Point, CA
    2021-05-28 · 9 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.