Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4md
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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA, at 9:34 am PDT on 17 May 2021 (16:34 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12km NW of Truckee, CA
40 km (25 mi) WSW of Reno, NV
- When
- 9:34 am PDT on 17 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- -2.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 15 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Sierra County, 28 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Dog Valley fault, 5 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 1969 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Truckee, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Truckee, CA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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. In Truckee, 12 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 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 2,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 42 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 23 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 2 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 35 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 11 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 39.4050, -120.2772. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra County, CA | 28 km (18 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Nevada County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Nevada County |
| Carson City, NV | 54 km (33 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Placer County, CA | 54 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Placer County |
| Storey County, NV | 65 km (40 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
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 26km W of Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
- 2.1 24km SSW of Loyalton, CA
- 2.2 10km N of Truckee, CA
- 1.5 3 km WNW of Sierra City, California
- 1.9 7 km ENE of Floriston, California
- 1.5 7 km ENE of Floriston, California
- 1.9 4km E of Truckee, CA
- 2.7 4km E of Truckee, CA
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 2.4 3km NE of Dollar Point, CA
- 2.2 4km E of Truckee, CA
- 1.8 4km SW of Tahoe Vista, CA
- 1.5 1 km ESE of C-Road, California
- 1.7 7 km ENE of Floriston, California
- 2.0 14km SSW of Loyalton, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.