QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the 24 hours to 12:12 am PST (08:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (31 mi) S, at 3:00 am PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 532 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA, at 11:08 pm PDT on 7 August 2020 (06:08 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 20km NW of Truckee, CA

44 km (27 mi) WSW of Reno, NV

11:08 pm PDT, Aug 7, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 20 kmNevada County 41 kmPlacer County 55 kmCarson City 62 kmStorey County 71 kmPlumas County 72 kmEl Dorado County 77 kmYuba County 88 kmDouglas County 89 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
11:08 pm PDT on 7 August 2020 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 20 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 7 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 2213 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 Truckee, 20 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 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 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 47 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 25 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 10 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 5 km SW 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 39.4582, -120.3475. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 20 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 41 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
Carson City, NV 62 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 71 km (44 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County
Plumas County, CA 72 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Plumas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  2. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  3. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  4. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  5. 2.1 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  6. 3.2 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  7. 2.1 10km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  8. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  9. 1.6 8 km SE of Dollar Point, California
  10. 1.9 22km SSW of Whitehawk, CA
  11. 2.5 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  12. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 2.1 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  14. 2.4 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  15. 2.5 9km SE of Dollar Point, 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.