QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the 24 hours to 12:21 pm PST (20:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (31 mi) S, at 3:00 am PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 532 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Truckee, CA, at 11:01 pm PDT on 12 September 2022 (06:01 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 15km WSW of Loyalton, CA

47 km (29 mi) W of Reno, NV

11:01 pm PDT, Sep 12, 2022 · · -0.5 km deep · released about 69 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 11 kmNevada County 47 kmPlumas County 57 kmPlacer County 66 kmCarson City 75 kmStorey County 77 kmYuba County 89 kmEl Dorado County 92 kmDouglas County 103 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
11:01 pm PDT on 12 September 2022 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) north-northwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
-0.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 11 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk 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 1521 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 36 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: Portola.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 69 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 69 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 4,100 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 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 26 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 21 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 19 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 37 km ESE 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 39.6042, -120.3970. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 11 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 47 km (29 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Plumas County, CA 57 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Plumas County
Placer County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer County
Carson City, NV 75 km (47 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 77 km (48 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. 1.6 Northern California
  2. 1.7 13km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
  3. 2.3 4km SSE of Truckee, CA
  4. 1.6 Northern California
  5. 1.5 5 km SSW of Cromberg, California
  6. 2.2 17km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  7. 2.4 6km NW of Johnsville, CA
  8. 1.6 5 km WNW of Plumas Eureka, California
  9. 2.0 5 km NNW of Plumas Eureka (historical), California
  10. 2.0 22km WNW of Truckee, CA
  11. 1.9 1 km NE of Carnelian Bay, California
  12. 1.8 4km WSW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  13. 1.9 4km N of Dollar Point, CA
  14. 1.9 4km WSW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  15. 2.3 11km NW of Verdi-Mogul, NV

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.