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 11:47 am PST (19:47 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 30 km (19 mi) west-southwest of Truckee, CA, at 11:04 pm PST on 16 December 2024 (07:04 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 30 km W of Truckee, CA

11:04 pm PST, Dec 16, 2024 · · 15 km deep · released about 62 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Nevada County 22 kmPlacer County 28 kmSierra County 35 kmEl Dorado County 53 kmCarson City 68 kmYuba County 71 kmPlumas County 86 kmDouglas County 88 kmStorey County 88 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
11:04 pm PST on 16 December 2024 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) west-southwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Nevada County, 22 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Foothills fault system, 24 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 693 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Truckee, 30 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 62 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 5.8 240,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 170,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 15× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 62 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 4,600 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. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 50 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 West of Downieville, California · 49 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 27 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 6 km E 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 39.2580, -120.5192. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Nevada County, CA 22 km (14 mi) WNW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 28 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
Sierra County, CA 35 km (22 mi) N earthquakes near Sierra County
El Dorado County, CA 53 km (33 mi) S earthquakes near El Dorado County
Carson City, NV 68 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near Carson City
Yuba County, CA 71 km (44 mi) W earthquakes near Yuba County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 9 km NNE of Truckee, CA
  2. 2.5 9 km NNE of Truckee, CA
  3. 2.5 9 km NNE of Truckee, CA
  4. 2.1 9 km NNE of Truckee, CA
  5. 1.9 32 km S of Whitehawk, CA
  6. 1.5 4 km W of Sattley, California
  7. 1.6 1 km W of Sattley, California
  8. 1.8 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  9. 2.4 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  10. 1.9 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  11. 2.4 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  12. 2.1 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  13. 2.0 19 km S of Johnsville, CA
  14. 1.6 4 km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  15. 2.0 22 km SSW of Tahoma, 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.