QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Dollar Point, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Dollar Point in the 24 hours to 7:27 am PST (15:27 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 3 km (2 mi) S, at 4:21 am PST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Dollar Point

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Dollar Point, CA, at 1:09 am PDT on 31 May 2020 (08:09 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 3km NE of Dollar Point, CA

42 km (26 mi) SSW of Reno, NV · 28 km (18 mi) WNW of Carson, NV

1:09 am PDT, May 31, 2020 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 56 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dollar Point Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 28 kmDouglas County 52 kmStorey County 54 kmSierra County 57 kmPlacer County 59 kmNevada County 61 kmEl Dorado County 62 kmAlpine County 69 kmLyon County 78 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
1:09 am PDT on 31 May 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of Dollar Point, CA · earthquakes near Dollar Point
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carson City, 28 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
West Tahoe-Dollar Point 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 2356 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Dollar Point, 3 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: Tahoe Vista 4 km, intensity II · Sunnyside-Tahoe City 10 km, intensity II · Truckee 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 56 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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 2020-03-21 — about 3,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 38 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 27 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 37 km NNE 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 39.2072, -120.0702. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 28 km (18 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas County
Storey County, NV 54 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Storey County
Sierra County, CA 57 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Sierra County
Placer County, CA 59 km (36 mi) WSW earthquakes near Placer County
Nevada County, CA 61 km (38 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 8 km NE of Truckee, California
  2. 1.8 8 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  3. 1.6 16 km NNW of Truckee, California
  4. 1.8 9 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  5. 1.8 9 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  6. 2.0 8 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
  7. 1.5 12 km W of Virginia City, Nevada
  8. 2.4 9 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  9. 1.5 9 km N of Kirkwood, California
  10. 1.9 4 km SSE of Dayton, Nevada
  11. 2.0 9 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  12. 2.0 16km SW of Loyalton, CA
  13. 1.6 10 km NW of Truckee, California
  14. 1.9 9 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  15. 1.9 10km NW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.