QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 7:07 am PST (15:07 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 7:33 pm PST on 9 January 2024 (03:33 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 15 km SSW of Walker, CA

7:33 pm PST, Jan 9, 2024 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 450 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 35 kmTuolumne County 55 kmDouglas County 58 kmLyon County 77 kmMono County 78 kmCarson City 87 kmCalaveras County 91 kmMariposa County 96 kmEl Dorado County 97 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
7:33 pm PST on 9 January 2024 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) south of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 35 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
West Walker River fault, 8 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 971 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 39 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 450 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 34,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 24,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 450 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 68,000 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 · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 10 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 20 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 22 km N 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 38.3848, -119.5405. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 35 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Alpine County
Tuolumne County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Douglas County, NV 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 77 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Mono County, CA 78 km (49 mi) SE earthquakes near Mono County
Carson City, NV 87 km (54 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 14 km E of Topaz, California
  2. 1.6 15 km E of Topaz, California
  3. 1.7 1 km WSW of Coleville, California
  4. 2.4 19 km E of Markleeville, CA
  5. 3.5 18 km E of Markleeville, CA
  6. 2.5 21 km WNW of Bridgeport, CA
  7. 2.6 16 km SW of Walker, CA
  8. 2.5 14 km E of Topaz, California
  9. 1.5 4 km W of Walker, California
  10. 1.5 4 km ENE of Topaz, California
  11. 2.7 12 km N of Walker, CA
  12. 2.2 3 km ENE of Topaz, California
  13. 1.6 14 km E of Topaz, California
  14. 1.6 9 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada
  15. 2.5 6 km NW 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.