QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the 24 hours to 12:05 pm PST (20:05 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (31 mi) S, at 3:00 am PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 532 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Truckee, CA, at 10:10 pm PDT on 26 August 2021 (05:10 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 35km WNW of Truckee, CA

10:10 pm PDT, Aug 26, 2021 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 9.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 20 kmNevada County 20 kmPlacer County 40 kmYuba County 67 kmPlumas County 68 kmEl Dorado County 69 kmCarson City 77 kmStorey County 91 kmButte County 92 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:10 pm PDT on 26 August 2021 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 20 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 22 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1900 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 35 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.3 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 31,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 37 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 28 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 48 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 16 km E of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 39.4050, -120.5832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 20 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer County
Yuba County, CA 67 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Yuba County
Plumas County, CA 68 km (43 mi) NNW earthquakes near Plumas County
El Dorado County, CA 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near El Dorado County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 9 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  2. 2.3 4km SSE of Truckee, CA
  3. 1.6 Northern California
  4. 1.5 5 km SSW of Cromberg, California
  5. 2.2 17km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  6. 2.4 6km NW of Johnsville, CA
  7. 1.6 5 km WNW of Plumas Eureka, California
  8. 2.0 5 km NNW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California
  9. 2.0 22km WNW of Truckee, CA
  10. 1.9 1 km NE of Carnelian Bay, California
  11. 1.8 4km WSW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  12. 1.9 4km N of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 1.9 4km WSW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  14. 2.3 11km NW of Verdi-Mogul, NV
  15. 2.7 21km WNW of Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.