QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 1:04 pm PST (21:04 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 6:07 pm PDT on 30 August 2021 (01:07 UTC), 4.1 km deep.

USGS: 25km ENE of Dardanelle, CA

6:07 pm PDT, Aug 30, 2021 · · 4.1 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 29 kmDouglas County 52 kmTuolumne County 57 kmLyon County 73 kmCarson City 81 kmMono County 84 kmCalaveras County 90 kmEl Dorado County 92 kmAmador County 94 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
6:07 pm PDT on 30 August 2021 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
4.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 29 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
West Walker River fault, 9 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 1897 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 Topaz Ranch Estates, 34 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 14 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 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 2,200,000 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 · 43 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 26 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 17 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 38.4340, -119.5703. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 29 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 52 km (33 mi) N earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 57 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 73 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 81 km (51 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
Mono County, CA 84 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. 1.6 31km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  2. 1.5 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 1.6 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  4. 1.8 28km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  5. 1.7 27km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  6. 1.5 28km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  7. 1.6 25km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  8. 2.4 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 1.5 31km SE of Markleeville, CA
  10. 1.9 24km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  11. 1.7 18km NW of Bridgeport, CA
  12. 1.5 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  13. 1.5 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  14. 1.6 26km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  15. 1.8 28km 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.