QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 9:18 pm PST (05:18 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV, at 3:37 am PDT on 13 March 2019 (10:37 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 15km NE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA

43 km (27 mi) NNW of Reno, NV

3:37 am PDT, Mar 13, 2019 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 110 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 55 kmPlumas County 67 kmStorey County 68 kmCarson City 88 kmNevada County 92 kmWashoe County 97 kmLassen County 102 kmPlacer County 110 kmDouglas County 117 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
3:37 am PDT on 13 March 2019 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Sierra County, 55 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley 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 2802 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 46 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 110 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 95,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 50 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 40 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 20 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 25 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 42 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 39.9062, -120.0437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 67 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Plumas County
Storey County, NV 68 km (43 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 88 km (54 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 92 km (57 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Washoe County, NV 97 km (60 mi) NNE earthquakes near Washoe County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  2. 1.8 9 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  3. 1.6 8 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  4. 1.7 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  5. 2.3 15km SE of Honey Lake, CA
  6. 1.9 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  7. 1.8 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  8. 2.2 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  9. 2.0 8km SSW of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  10. 1.6 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  11. 1.6 2 km W of Sun Valley, Nevada
  12. 1.5 2 km SE of Golden Valley, Nevada
  13. 1.7 7km NNW of Cold Springs, NV
  14. 2.5 5km NW of Cold Springs, NV
  15. 1.6 5 km ENE of Lemmon Valley, Nevada

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.