Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Cold Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Cold Springs in the 24 hours to 2:29 pm PST (22:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 10:33 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 242 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cold Springs
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Cold Springs, NV, at 2:38 am PDT on 9 September 2017 (09:38 UTC), 5.7 km deep.
USGS: 6 km NNW of Cold Springs, Nevada
24 km (15 mi) NW of Reno, NV
- When
- 2:38 am PDT on 9 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Cold Springs, NV · earthquakes near Cold Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Sierra County, 47 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Upper Long Valley fault, 4 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 3057 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cold Springs, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cold Springs, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Cold Springs, 6 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.
Likely felt in: Cold Springs 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 31 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 21 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 43 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 40 km N of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 16 km W 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 39.7297, -120.0088. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Storey County, NV | 53 km (33 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 68 km (42 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Plumas County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Nevada County, CA | 81 km (50 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Placer County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Placer 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.
- 2.5 17km NNE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
- 1.5 4 km NW of Spanish Springs, Nevada
- 2.0 13 km NNE of Soda Springs, California
- 2.6 9km NNW of Loyalton, CA
- 1.5 5 km SSE of Floriston, California
- 2.0 13 km ESE of Sparks, Nevada
- 1.9 10km NNW of Loyalton, CA
- 2.5 10km NNW of Loyalton, CA
- 1.5 5 km S of Floriston, California
- 2.2 12km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
- 2.9 12km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
- 1.6 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.3 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.1 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.1 12km NNE of Tahoe Vista, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.