QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 12:20 pm PST (20:20 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 1:48 pm PDT on 24 September 2021 (20:48 UTC), 3.7 km deep.

USGS: 17km NW of Bridgeport, CA

1:48 pm PDT, Sep 24, 2021 · · 3.7 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 48 kmDouglas County 63 kmMono County 66 kmTuolumne County 68 kmLyon County 72 kmMineral County 82 kmCarson City 93 kmMariposa County 103 kmCalaveras County 108 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
1:48 pm PDT on 24 September 2021 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
3.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 48 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 1872 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 42 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 2,600,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.8 3 km NE of Mono City, California · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 17 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 34 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 20 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 26 km NNW 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 38.3823, -119.3393. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 48 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 63 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Mono County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SE earthquakes near Mono County
Tuolumne County, CA 68 km (42 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 82 km (51 mi) E earthquakes near Mineral 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 30km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  2. 1.6 33km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 1.6 29km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 2.3 28km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  5. 1.7 13km SSE of Bodie, CA
  6. 1.6 17 km ENE of Mono City, California
  7. 3.3 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  8. 1.9 13km SSE of Bodie, CA
  9. 1.7 13km SSE of Bodie, CA
  10. 1.6 13km SSE of Bodie, CA
  11. 1.6 18 km ENE of Mono City, California
  12. 2.4 13km SSE of Bodie, CA
  13. 2.3 14km S of Bodie, CA
  14. 2.2 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  15. 2.1 28km SE 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.