QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 8:40 am PST (16:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Reno

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) west of Reno, NV, at 9:17 pm PST on 17 December 2021 (05:17 UTC), 3.6 km deep.

USGS: 14km SSW of Loyalton, CA

40 km (25 mi) W of Reno, NV

9:17 pm PST, Dec 17, 2021 · · 3.6 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 17 kmNevada County 49 kmPlumas County 64 kmPlacer County 66 kmCarson City 67 kmStorey County 70 kmEl Dorado County 89 kmYuba County 94 kmDouglas County 96 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
9:17 pm PST on 17 December 2021 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) west of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 17 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 6 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 1788 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 44 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Truckee, Verdi.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 8,800 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 · 45 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 21 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 20 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 20 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 16 km SSW 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 39.5647, -120.3198. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 17 km (11 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 49 km (30 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Plumas County, CA 64 km (40 mi) NW earthquakes near Plumas County
Placer County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer County
Carson City, NV 67 km (42 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 70 km (43 mi) ESE earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 14km N of Kings Beach, CA
  2. 1.6 7 km S of Plumas Eureka (historical), California
  3. 2.1 14km NNW of Incline Village-Crystal Bay, NV
  4. 1.5 9 km SSE of Beckwourth, California
  5. 1.5 2 km ESE of Truckee, California
  6. 1.6 5 km NNW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California
  7. 1.8 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  8. 2.3 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  9. 2.0 12km NW of Truckee, CA
  10. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  11. 2.2 4km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  12. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 3.1 10km ESE of Loyalton, CA
  14. 2.8 15km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  15. 1.7 4 km WNW of Sierra City, 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.