QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 2:35 pm PST (22:35 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 2:45 am PDT on 18 July 2021 (09:45 UTC), 5.9 km deep.

USGS: 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA

2:45 am PDT, Jul 18, 2021 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 30 kmDouglas County 49 kmTuolumne County 64 kmLyon County 67 kmCarson City 78 kmMono County 83 kmEl Dorado County 95 kmMineral County 95 kmCalaveras 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
2:45 am PDT on 18 July 2021 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 30 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 1934 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 29 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 5,200,000 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 · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 20 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 29 km S 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 · 12 km N 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 38.4752, -119.5112. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 30 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 49 km (30 mi) N earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 67 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 78 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Mono County, CA 83 km (52 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. 2.1 32km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  2. 1.6 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  3. 1.5 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  4. 1.7 31km NE of Dardanelle, CA
  5. 2.1 33km SE of Markleeville, CA
  6. 2.4 28km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  7. 1.8 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 1.5 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 1.8 29km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  10. 1.8 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  11. 1.8 28km NNW of Bridgeport, CA
  12. 2.2 29km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  13. 1.7 32km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  14. 1.6 26km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  15. 1.8 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV

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.