QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardnerville Ranchos in the 24 hours to 10:28 am PST (18:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 30 km (18 mi) W, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV, at 9:06 pm PDT on 15 July 2021 (04:06 UTC), 2.6 km deep.

USGS: 30km SE of Markleeville, CA

9:06 pm PDT, Jul 15, 2021 · · 2.6 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 26 kmDouglas County 44 kmLyon County 64 kmTuolumne County 66 kmCarson City 74 kmMono County 88 kmEl Dorado County 92 kmCalaveras County 96 kmMineral County 97 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
9:06 pm PDT on 15 July 2021 ()
Where
46 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV · earthquakes near Gardnerville Ranchos
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 26 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Antelope 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 1914 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardnerville Ranchos, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Topaz Ranch Estates.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 2,400,000 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 · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 24 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 33 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 8 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 38.5100, -119.5365. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 26 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 44 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 64 km (40 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Tuolumne County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Carson City, NV 74 km (46 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Mono County, CA 88 km (55 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. 1.9 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  2. 1.5 30km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 1.8 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 1.9 26 km WSW of Walker Lake, Nevada
  5. 1.8 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  6. 1.6 26km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  7. 1.5 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 1.6 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  9. 1.8 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  10. 1.6 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  11. 3.4 29km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  12. 3.1 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  13. 2.3 32km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  14. 1.6 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  15. 2.2 27km ESE of Markleeville, 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.