QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardnerville Ranchos in the 24 hours to 12:14 pm PST (20:14 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV, at 8:12 pm PDT on 21 July 2021 (03:12 UTC), 6.3 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km NNE of Mesa Vista, CA

39 km (24 mi) S of Carson, NV · 148 km (92 mi) E of Sacramento, CA

8:12 pm PDT, Jul 21, 2021 · · 6.3 km deep · released about 400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 19 kmAlpine County 21 kmCarson City 39 kmLyon County 57 kmEl Dorado County 64 kmStorey County 74 kmAmador County 85 kmPlacer County 85 kmTuolumne County 89 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
8:12 pm PDT on 21 July 2021 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV · earthquakes near Gardnerville Ranchos
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Douglas County, 19 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Genoa fault, under 1 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 1874 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardnerville Ranchos, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Gardnerville Ranchos 10 km, intensity III · South Lake Tahoe 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 75,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 13 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 11 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 12 km S of South Lake Tahoe, California · 16 km W 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 38.8087, -119.7967. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, NV 19 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Douglas County
Alpine County, CA 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Alpine County
Carson City, NV 39 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lyon County
El Dorado County, CA 64 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near El Dorado County
Storey County, NV 74 km (46 mi) NNE earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 28km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  2. 1.6 1 km NE of Walker, California
  3. 1.7 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 1.6 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  5. 1.5 33km NW of Bridgeport, CA
  6. 1.7 31km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  7. 1.5 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 1.6 26km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  9. 1.5 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  10. 1.6 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  11. 1.9 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  12. 1.6 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  13. 2.5 33km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  14. 1.5 30km S of Smith Valley, NV
  15. 1.6 31km S 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.