QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 10:38 am PST (18:38 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) south-southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 1:19 pm PDT on 11 October 2021 (20:19 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 31km NNW of Bridgeport, CA

1:19 pm PDT, Oct 11, 2021 · · 0.5 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 36 kmDouglas County 49 kmLyon County 62 kmTuolumne County 71 kmCarson City 79 kmMono County 80 kmMineral County 87 kmEl Dorado County 102 kmCalaveras County 105 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
1:19 pm PDT on 11 October 2021 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) south-southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
0.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 36 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Antelope Valley 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 1858 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 28 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 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 370,000 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. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 23 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 30 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 40 km NW 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 38.4920, -119.4160. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 36 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 49 km (30 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 62 km (38 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Tuolumne County, CA 71 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Carson City, NV 79 km (49 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Mono County, CA 80 km (49 mi) SE earthquakes near Mono County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 27 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 2.1 4km WNW of Walker, CA
  3. 2.2 4km WNW of Walker, CA
  4. 1.6 6km NW of Walker, CA
  5. 1.6 6km NW of Walker, CA
  6. 1.6 7km S of Walker, CA
  7. 1.5 6km S of Walker, CA
  8. 2.1 6km NW of Walker, CA
  9. 2.7 6km NW of Walker, CA
  10. 1.7 18 km S of Smith Valley, Nevada
  11. 2.2 6km NW of Walker, CA
  12. 2.9 6km NW of Walker, CA
  13. 2.8 6km NW of Walker, CA
  14. 1.5 11km W of Walker, CA
  15. 2.2 5km WNW of Walker, 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.