QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the 24 hours to 2:13 am PST (10:13 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Truckee, CA, at 6:20 pm PST on 10 January 2021 (02:20 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8km N of Truckee, CA

32 km (20 mi) WSW of Reno, NV

6:20 pm PST, Jan 10, 2021 · · 9.8 km deep · released about 270 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 36 kmCarson City 46 kmNevada County 53 kmStorey County 56 kmPlacer County 61 kmDouglas County 74 kmEl Dorado County 75 kmPlumas County 86 kmAlpine County 93 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
6:20 pm PST on 10 January 2021 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) north of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Sierra County, 36 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Polaris 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 2064 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 8 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: Truckee 8 km, intensity II · Tahoe Vista 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 270 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 57,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 40,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 270 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 640 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 18 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 8 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 35 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 20 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 39.4017, -120.1720. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 36 km (22 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sierra County
Carson City, NV 46 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 53 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Storey County, NV 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County
Placer County, CA 61 km (38 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
Douglas County, NV 74 km (46 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas 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. 4.7 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  2. 1.7 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  3. 2.7 20km NW of Truckee, CA
  4. 3.1 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  5. 1.6 3 km NNW of Reno, Nevada
  6. 1.5 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  7. 2.5 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  8. 2.4 16km SW of Loyalton, CA
  9. 1.6 8 km SE of Dollar Point, California
  10. 2.1 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  11. 2.3 11km N of Truckee, CA
  12. 1.6 8 km SE of Dollar Point, California
  13. 2.4 10km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  14. 1.5 8 km WNW of Glenbrook, Nevada
  15. 2.4 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.