QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the 24 hours to 7:08 am PST (15:08 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) west-southwest of Truckee, CA, at 12:27 am PDT on 8 May 2025 (07:27 UTC), 2.5 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18 km W of Truckee, CA

55 km (34 mi) SW of Reno, NV

12:27 am PDT, May 8, 2025 · · 2.5 km deep · released about 220 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Nevada County 34 kmSierra County 37 kmPlacer County 37 kmEl Dorado County 55 kmCarson City 56 kmStorey County 76 kmDouglas County 78 kmYuba County 83 kmAlpine 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
12:27 am PDT on 8 May 2025 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) west-southwest of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
2.5 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Nevada County, 34 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Tahoe-Sierra frontal fault, 14 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 476 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 Truckee, 18 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.

Likely felt in: Truckee 18 km, intensity II · Sunnyside-Tahoe City 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 70,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 50,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.4× 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 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 1,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 18 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 18 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km SSW of Kingvale, California · 6 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 39.2653, -120.3808. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Nevada County, CA 34 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County
Sierra County, CA 37 km (23 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sierra County
Placer County, CA 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
El Dorado County, CA 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near El Dorado County
Carson City, NV 56 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 76 km (47 mi) ENE earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

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