Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Sparks, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Sparks in the 24 hours to 6:44 pm PST (02:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) WSW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sparks
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south of Sparks, NV, at 12:00 pm PDT on 31 July 2016 (19:00 UTC), 6.7 km deep. 224 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 11 km S of Sparks, Nevada
16 km (10 mi) SE of Reno, NV · 16 km (10 mi) S of Sparks, NV
- When
- 12:00 pm PDT on 31 July 2016 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) south of Sparks, NV · earthquakes near Sparks
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 224 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Storey County, 18 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mount Rose 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 3056 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sparks, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sparks, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Sparks, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Sparks 11 km, intensity III · Reno 12 km, intensity III · Spanish Springs 24 km, intensity II · Carson City 30 km, intensity II · Cold Springs 34 km, intensity II · Tahoe Vista 35 km, intensity II · Truckee 40 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 46 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 9 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 45 km W 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 39.4347, -119.7375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 18 km (11 mi) | E | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 31 km (19 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Douglas County, NV | 60 km (37 mi) | S | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Lyon County, NV | 65 km (41 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Sierra County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Nevada County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | W | earthquakes near Nevada County |
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.
- 1.6 11 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 1.5 6 km NNE of Mogul, Nevada
- 1.9 3 km NNE of Reno, Nevada
- 1.9 3 km NNE of Reno, Nevada
- 1.6 5 km SSE of Floriston, California
- 1.8 3 km NW of Sparks, Nevada
- 1.8 3 km NNE of Reno, Nevada
- 1.8 6 km S of Floriston, California
- 1.5 6 km S of Floriston, California
- 1.8 11 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 2.6 12 km N of Spanish Springs, Nevada
- 1.7 15 km WNW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 1.8 6 km NNW of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 1.5 9 km ESE of Sierra Brooks, California
- 1.8 2 km N of Reno, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.