QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

5km NW of Cold Springs, NV

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 5km NW of Cold Springs, NV, 23 km (14 mi) NW of Reno, NV, at 10:44 pm PDT on 20 March 2020 (05:44 UTC), 3.4 km deep. 25 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

23 km (14 mi) NW of Reno, NV

· 3.4 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 45 kmStorey County 52 kmCarson City 66 kmPlumas County 76 kmNevada County 79 kmPlacer County 93 kmDouglas County 96 kmLyon County 104 kmEl Dorado County 111 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
3.4 km below the surface
Felt
25 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Sierra County, 45 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long 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 2351 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Cold Springs 5 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 75,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 140 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 Near Reno, Nevada · 30 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 18 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 40 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 15 km W 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 39.7048, -120.0225. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 45 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Storey County, NV 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 66 km (41 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Plumas County, CA 76 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Nevada County, CA 79 km (49 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 93 km (58 mi) SW 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.

  1. 1.9 3 km N of Reno, Nevada
  2. 1.8 3 km N of Reno, Nevada
  3. 1.6 6 km NNW of Verdi, California
  4. 2.7 11km NW of Verdi-Mogul, NV
  5. 1.6 7 km NNW of Verdi, California
  6. 1.5 7 km NNW of Verdi, California
  7. 1.5 7 km NNW of Verdi, California
  8. 1.5 5 km SSW of Sattley, California
  9. 1.8 17 km ENE of Doyle, California
  10. 2.2 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  11. 1.5 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  12. 1.8 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  13. 1.7 19 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  14. 2.3 7km NW of Verdi-Mogul, NV
  15. 2.2 15km NNW of Incline Village-Crystal Bay, NV

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.