QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the last 24 hours. M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) NNE of Truckee, at 7:32 am PST on 13 November 2026 (15:32 UTC); the estimated shaking in Truckee was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA, at 9:17 am PST on 12 February 2021 (17:17 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 10km NW of Truckee, CA

39 km (24 mi) WSW of Reno, NV

9:17 am PST, Feb 12, 2021 · · 11 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 31 kmNevada County 46 kmCarson City 51 kmPlacer County 55 kmStorey County 63 kmEl Dorado County 72 kmDouglas County 78 kmPlumas County 83 kmAlpine County 94 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
9:17 am PST on 12 February 2021 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 31 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Dog 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 2100 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 9 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 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 24 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 41 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 23 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 1 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 36 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 13 km WNW 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 39.3935, -120.2537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 31 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 46 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Carson City, NV 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carson City
Placer County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
Storey County, NV 63 km (39 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County
El Dorado County, CA 72 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near El Dorado County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 16 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  2. 2.6 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  3. 1.5 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  4. 2.2 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  5. 3.0 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  6. 4.7 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  7. 1.7 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  8. 2.7 20km NW of Truckee, CA
  9. 3.1 19km NW of Truckee, CA
  10. 1.6 3 km NNW of Reno, Nevada
  11. 1.5 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  12. 2.5 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 2.4 16km SW of Loyalton, CA
  14. 1.6 8 km SE of Dollar Point, California
  15. 2.1 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.