QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Tahoe Vista, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Tahoe Vista in the 24 hours to 11:47 am PST (19:47 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 4:21 am PST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tahoe Vista

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north of Tahoe Vista, CA, at 4:04 pm PST on 13 November 2021 (00:04 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 6km N of Tahoe Vista, CA

33 km (21 mi) SSW of Reno, NV · 31 km (19 mi) WNW of Carson, NV

4:04 pm PST, Nov 13, 2021 · · -1.1 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tahoe Vista Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 31 kmStorey County 48 kmSierra County 51 kmDouglas County 58 kmNevada County 61 kmPlacer County 63 kmEl Dorado County 70 kmAlpine County 78 kmLyon County 80 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
4:04 pm PST on 13 November 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north of Tahoe Vista, CA · earthquakes near Tahoe Vista
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
-1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carson City, 31 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Polaris fault, 4 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 1824 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Tahoe Vista, 6 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.

Likely felt in: Tahoe Vista 6 km, intensity II · Truckee 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 32 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 28 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 33 km WNW 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 39.2972, -120.0575. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 48 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Storey County
Sierra County, CA 51 km (31 mi) NW earthquakes near Sierra County
Douglas County, NV 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas County
Nevada County, CA 61 km (38 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 63 km (39 mi) WSW earthquakes near Placer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  2. 2.3 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  3. 2.0 12km NW of Truckee, CA
  4. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  5. 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  6. 1.5 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  7. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  8. 3.1 10km ESE of Loyalton, CA
  9. 2.8 15km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  10. 2.1 4 km SSE of Cold Springs, Nevada
  11. 1.5 4 km SE of Cold Springs, Nevada
  12. 2.4 Nevada
  13. 2.2 16km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  14. 2.1 17km SSW of Loyalton, CA
  15. 1.5 5 km SSE of Sierraville, California

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.