QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA, at 7:55 am PDT on 15 March 2019 (14:55 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17km SSE of Whitehawk, CA

52 km (32 mi) W of Reno, NV

7:55 am PDT, Mar 15, 2019 · · -1.4 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 6 kmNevada County 42 kmPlumas County 55 kmPlacer County 62 kmCarson City 78 kmStorey County 82 kmYuba County 84 kmEl Dorado County 89 kmButte 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
7:55 am PDT on 15 March 2019 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
-1.4 km below the surface
Felt
13 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Sierra County, 6 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 3 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 2800 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 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.

Likely felt in: Portola 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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:

  1. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 32 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 48 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 27 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 26 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 18 km SSE 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 39.5847, -120.4557. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 6 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 42 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Plumas County, CA 55 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Plumas County
Placer County, CA 62 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer County
Carson City, NV 78 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 82 km (51 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 5km NW of Cold Springs, NV
  2. 2.3 5km NNE of Little Grass Valley, CA
  3. 2.4 6 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
  4. 1.8 5 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
  5. 2.8 17km NNW of Truckee, CA
  6. 2.4 18km NNW of Truckee, CA
  7. 3.7 17km NNW of Truckee, CA
  8. 1.5 6 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
  9. 2.0 6 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
  10. 2.8 6km WSW of Cold Springs, NV
  11. 2.3 22km SW of Whitehawk, CA
  12. 2.7 4km N of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 2.8 8km WNW of Lake Davis, CA
  14. 1.6 3 km NNE of Truckee, California
  15. 1.5 5 km S of Floriston, 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.