QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the last 24 hours. M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) NNE of Truckee, at 7:32 am PST on 13 November 2026 (15:32 UTC); the estimated shaking in Truckee was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA, at 5:50 pm PST on 29 January 2018 (01:50 UTC), 8.3 km deep.

USGS: 18km SSW of Whitehawk, CA

70 km (43 mi) W of Reno, NV

5:50 pm PST, Jan 29, 2018 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 12 kmNevada County 33 kmPlumas County 47 kmPlacer County 58 kmYuba County 68 kmButte County 81 kmEl Dorado County 89 kmCarson City 92 kmStorey County 99 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
5:50 pm PST on 29 January 2018 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 12 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 16 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 3209 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, 50 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 12 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 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 30 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 28 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 3 km N of Blairsden, California · 26 km N 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 39.5838, -120.6617. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 12 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 33 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Plumas County, CA 47 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Placer County, CA 58 km (36 mi) S earthquakes near Placer County
Yuba County, CA 68 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Yuba County
Butte County, CA 81 km (50 mi) W earthquakes near Butte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km SSE of Soda Springs, California
  2. 1.8 8km NNE of East Quincy, CA
  3. 1.6 8 km SSE of Taylorsville, California
  4. 1.6 9 km SSE of Taylorsville, California
  5. 1.8 7km NE of East Quincy, CA
  6. 1.5 2 km SE of Johnsville, California
  7. 1.6 2 km S of Plumas Eureka, California
  8. 1.7 11 km SSW of Kingvale, California
  9. 1.9 8km W of La Porte, CA
  10. 1.8 16km SW of La Porte, CA
  11. 1.6 4 km WSW of Sattley, California
  12. 1.5 4 km WSW of Sattley, California
  13. 1.6 5 km WSW of Sattley, California
  14. 2.2 26km W of Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
  15. 1.6 5 km NW of Sierra City, California

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.