QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 3:22 pm PST (23:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Reno

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV, at 5:33 am PDT on 13 July 2017 (12:33 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 11 km E of Chilcoot-Vinton, California

34 km (21 mi) NNW of Reno, NV

5:33 am PDT, Jul 13, 2017 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 56 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 52 kmStorey County 60 kmPlumas County 72 kmCarson City 78 kmNevada County 88 kmPlacer County 104 kmWashoe County 105 kmDouglas County 108 kmLassen County 112 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
5:33 am PDT on 13 July 2017 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 52 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley fault, 5 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 3056 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 37 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cold Springs, Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 56 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 2,800 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 Near Reno, Nevada · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 31 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 29 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 20 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 33 km S 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 39.8243, -120.0120. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 52 km (32 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Storey County, NV 60 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Plumas County, CA 72 km (45 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Carson City, NV 78 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 88 km (54 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 104 km (65 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 17km NNE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  2. 1.5 4 km NW of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  3. 2.6 9km NNW of Loyalton, CA
  4. 1.9 10km NNW of Loyalton, CA
  5. 2.5 10km NNW of Loyalton, CA
  6. 2.3 10km NNW of Loyalton, CA
  7. 2.0 21km NW of Truckee, CA
  8. 1.6 13 km NE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  9. 2.1 14km NNE of Lake Davis, CA
  10. 1.5 9km NNW of Loyalton, CA
  11. 1.5 Nevada
  12. 1.5 6 km NNE of Mogul, Nevada
  13. 1.9 3 km NNE of Reno, Nevada
  14. 1.9 3 km NNE of Reno, Nevada
  15. 1.9 7km N of Loyalton, 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.