Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Tahoe Vista, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Tahoe Vista in the 24 hours to 5:27 pm PST (01:27 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 4:21 am PST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tahoe Vista
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) west of Tahoe Vista, CA, at 6:30 am PDT on 19 August 2018 (13:30 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km W of Tahoe Vista, CA
41 km (26 mi) SSW of Reno, NV · 32 km (20 mi) WNW of Carson, NV
- When
- 6:30 am PDT on 19 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) west of Tahoe Vista, CA · earthquakes near Tahoe Vista
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- -1.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Carson City, 32 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- West Tahoe-Dollar Point fault, under 1 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 3007 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tahoe Vista, CA
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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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Tahoe Vista, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Tahoe Vista 4 km, intensity III · Sunnyside-Tahoe City 11 km, intensity II · Truckee 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 · 39 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 35 km N of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 22 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 34 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 35 km NNE 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 39.2340, -120.1025. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City, NV | 32 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Sierra County, CA | 52 km (33 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Storey County, NV | 55 km (34 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Douglas County, NV | 56 km (35 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Placer County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Placer County |
| Nevada County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | W | earthquakes near Nevada 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.
- 1.7 3 km S of Floriston, California
- 1.5 3 km S of Floriston, California
- 1.9 7 km SW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 3.7 8 km SW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 1.9 7 km SW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 2.4 8 km SW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 2.8 14km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.6 14km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
- 1.6 7 km SSE of Sierraville, California
- 2.3 10km NNW of Truckee, CA
- 1.5 13 km SSE of Sierraville, California
- 2.4 21km NNW of Truckee, CA
- 1.6 12 km SSE of Sierraville, California
- 2.9 10km SW of Cold Springs, NV
- 2.8 17km SSE of Whitehawk, 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.