QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 12:29 am PST (08:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Reno

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) northwest of Reno, NV, at 12:50 am PDT on 17 April 2025 (07:50 UTC), 8.8 km deep.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Loyalton, CA

34 km (21 mi) NW of Reno, NV

12:50 am PDT, Apr 17, 2025 · · 8.8 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 33 kmPlumas County 62 kmStorey County 65 kmNevada County 69 kmCarson City 74 kmPlacer County 87 kmDouglas County 103 kmEl Dorado County 108 kmYuba County 112 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
12:50 am PDT on 17 April 2025 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
8.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 33 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley fault, 9 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 574 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 Reno, 38 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: Cold Springs, Portola, Verdi.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 21 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 37 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 1 km WSW 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 39.7218, -120.1840. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 33 km (21 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 62 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Storey County, NV 65 km (40 mi) ESE earthquakes near Storey County
Nevada County, CA 69 km (43 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Carson City, NV 74 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Placer County, CA 87 km (54 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer 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. 2.1 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  2. 1.8 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  3. 2.0 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  4. 2.1 7 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  5. 2.1 7 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  6. 2.0 7 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  7. 2.5 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  8. 1.9 8 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  9. 2.0 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  10. 2.0 19 km S of Johnsville, CA
  11. 1.9 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  12. 1.6 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  13. 2.2 13 km NE of Lake Davis, CA
  14. 2.4 6 km SW of Cold Springs, NV
  15. 1.5 4 km ENE of Spanish Springs, Nevada

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.