QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near South Lake Tahoe, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Lake Tahoe in the 24 hours to 2:49 am PST (10:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 10 km (6 mi) WSW, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 36 km (23 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA, at 1:58 am PST on 28 December 2019 (09:58 UTC), 2.1 km deep.

USGS: 7km SSW of Markleeville, CA

58 km (36 mi) S of Carson, NV · 143 km (89 mi) E of Sacramento, CA

1:58 am PST, Dec 28, 2019 · · 2.1 km deep · released about 74 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 3 kmDouglas County 36 kmCarson City 58 kmEl Dorado County 64 kmTuolumne County 69 kmLyon County 70 kmAmador County 75 kmCalaveras County 80 kmPlacer County 91 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
1:58 am PST on 28 December 2019 ()
Where
36 km (23 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA · earthquakes near South Lake Tahoe
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
2.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 3 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Genoa fault, 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 2501 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In South Lake Tahoe, 36 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: Gardnerville Ranchos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 74 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 26 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 47 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 27 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 19 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 29 km ESE 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 38.6322, -119.8248. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 3 km (2 mi) ESE earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 36 km (22 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Carson City, NV 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
El Dorado County, CA 64 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near El Dorado County
Tuolumne County, CA 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 70 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.7 31km SE of Markleeville, CA
  2. 4.3 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 3.0 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 3.2 2 km WNW of Walker, California
  5. 5.0 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
  6. 6.0 Antelope Valley, CA
  7. 2.1 33km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 2.3 33km SE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 1.5 8 km ENE of Coleville, California
  10. 2.9 4km SSE of Markleeville, CA
  11. 1.9 12 km SE of Topaz Ranch Estates, Nevada
  12. 2.4 22km WNW of Bridgeport, CA
  13. 1.5 9 km N of Kirkwood, California
  14. 1.5 6 km NNE of Fish Springs, Nevada
  15. 1.9 4 km SSW of Smith 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.