QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near South Lake Tahoe, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Lake Tahoe in the 24 hours to 4:11 am PST (12:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 10 km (6 mi) WSW, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA, at 1:45 pm PDT on 26 May 2023 (20:45 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 6km SSE of Markleeville, CA

57 km (36 mi) S of Carson, NV · 147 km (91 mi) E of Sacramento, CA

1:45 pm PDT, May 26, 2023 · · -1.2 km deep · released about 220 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 3 kmDouglas County 33 kmCarson City 57 kmLyon County 66 kmEl Dorado County 68 kmTuolumne County 71 kmAmador County 79 kmCalaveras County 84 kmStorey County 92 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
1:45 pm PDT on 26 May 2023 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA · earthquakes near South Lake Tahoe
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
-1.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 3 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Genoa fault, 3 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 1202 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In South Lake Tahoe, 37 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: Topaz Ranch Estates, Gardnerville Ranchos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 220 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 68,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 48,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 220 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 130,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 23 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 45 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 28 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 17 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 25 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 38.6387, -119.7777. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 3 km (2 mi) SW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 33 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Carson City, NV 57 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 66 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near Lyon County
El Dorado County, CA 68 km (42 mi) WNW earthquakes near El Dorado County
Tuolumne County, CA 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tuolumne 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. 2.2 4 km NNW of Walker, CA
  2. 2.3 8 km WNW of Walker, CA
  3. 2.4 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  4. 1.5 4 km SE of Topaz Ranch Estates, Nevada
  5. 1.7 1 km SSE of Coleville, California
  6. 2.5 13 km NE of Walker, California
  7. 2.5 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  8. 1.5 California-Nevada border region
  9. 2.3 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  10. 2.7 6 km NNW of Walker, CA
  11. 2.7 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  12. 2.0 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  13. 2.1 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  14. 1.5 2 km S of Coleville, California
  15. 2.3 5 km NNW 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.