Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Reno, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 3:11 pm PST (23:11 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) northwest of Reno, NV, at 8:44 am PDT on 18 March 2019 (15:44 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km NNE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
40 km (25 mi) NW of Reno, NV
- When
- 8:44 am PDT on 18 March 2019 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Sierra County, 46 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Upper Long Valley fault, 2 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 2795 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Reno, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Reno, 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 43 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 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 1,800 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 47 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 33 km S of this epicentre
- 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 27 km N of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 16 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 37 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 39.8468, -120.1103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra County, CA | 46 km (29 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Plumas County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Storey County, NV | 68 km (42 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 83 km (52 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Nevada County, CA | 83 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Placer County, CA | 102 km (63 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Placer 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.
- 2.2 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 8km SSW of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
- 1.6 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.8 15km NW of Truckee, CA
- 2.8 15km NW of Truckee, CA
- 2.2 15km NW of Truckee, CA
- 1.6 2 km W of Sun Valley, Nevada
- 1.5 2 km SE of Golden Valley, Nevada
- 1.7 7km NNW of Cold Springs, NV
- 2.5 5km NW of Cold Springs, NV
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Lemmon Valley, Nevada
- 2.4 6 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 1.8 5 km SW of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 2.8 17km NNW of Truckee, CA
- 2.4 18km NNW of Truckee, 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.