QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 6:06 am PST (14:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) SW, at 6:36 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 6:36 pm PDT on 8 July 2021 (01:36 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 28km ENE of Dardanelle, CA

6:36 pm PDT, Jul 8, 2021 · · 0.1 km deep · released about 280 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 28 kmDouglas County 50 kmTuolumne County 61 kmLyon County 69 kmCarson City 79 kmMono County 85 kmCalaveras County 93 kmEl Dorado County 93 kmAmador County 96 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
6:36 pm PDT on 8 July 2021 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
0.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 28 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Antelope Valley fault, 6 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 1882 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 31 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 280 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 55,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 39,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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 6.0 on 2021-07-08 — about 110,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 19 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 28 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 14 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 38.4622, -119.5490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 28 km (17 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 50 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 61 km (38 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 69 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 79 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Mono County, CA 85 km (53 mi) SE earthquakes near Mono 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. 3.0 33km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  2. 2.4 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 2.3 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  4. 2.4 28km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  5. 1.7 11 km WSW of Topaz Lake, Nevada
  6. 2.3 13km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  7. 3.2 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 3.3 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 1.7 8 km SW of Walker, California
  10. 2.2 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  11. 3.0 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  12. 1.5 4 km WSW of Walker, California
  13. 2.9 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  14. 1.7 3 km S of Walker, California
  15. 2.5 30km NW of Bridgeport, 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.