QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 9:07 am PST (17:07 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 3:16 am PST on 21 December 2021 (11:16 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 7km S of Walker, CA

3:16 am PST, Dec 21, 2021 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 36 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 33 kmDouglas County 52 kmTuolumne County 64 kmLyon County 68 kmMono County 80 kmCarson City 81 kmMineral County 93 kmCalaveras County 98 kmEl Dorado County 99 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
3:16 am PST on 21 December 2021 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 33 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Antelope Valley fault, 2 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 1779 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 32 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 36 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 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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 840,000 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 · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 17 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 26 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 41 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 38.4527, -119.4822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 33 km (21 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 52 km (32 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Lyon County, NV 68 km (42 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Mono County, CA 80 km (50 mi) SE earthquakes near Mono County
Carson City, NV 81 km (50 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km W of Walker, California
  2. 2.8 8km NNE of Walker, CA
  3. 2.2 6km SSW of Walker, CA
  4. 2.2 5km WSW of Walker, CA
  5. 2.0 5km W of Walker, CA
  6. 2.4 6km NW of Walker, CA
  7. 1.5 0 km SSE of Walker, California
  8. 1.8 0 km SSE of Walker, California
  9. 1.5 3 km SSW of Coleville, California
  10. 2.1 6km WNW of Walker, CA
  11. 1.5 7 km ESE of Walker, California
  12. 2.2 6km WNW of Walker, CA
  13. 2.2 5km WNW of Walker, CA
  14. 1.8 5km SW of Walker, CA
  15. 2.2 6km 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.