QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Dayton, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 6:33 am PST (14:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (30 mi) E, at 6:36 pm PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Dayton

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Dayton, NV, at 3:23 am PDT on 3 April 2017 (10:23 UTC), 2.0 km deep.

USGS: 10 km ENE of Dayton, Nevada

45 km (28 mi) SE of Reno, NV · 26 km (16 mi) ENE of Carson, NV

3:23 am PDT, Apr 3, 2017 · · 2.0 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dayton Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 20 kmCarson City 26 kmLyon County 36 kmDouglas County 41 kmAlpine County 77 kmSierra County 96 kmEl Dorado County 105 kmChurchill County 109 kmPlacer County 109 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
3:23 am PDT on 3 April 2017 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Dayton, NV · earthquakes near Dayton
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
2.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 20 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Smith Valley fault, 12 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

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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 10 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: Stagecoach, Carson City, Silver Springs.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 17 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 38 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 13 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada · 36 km ESE 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 39.2642, -119.4815. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 20 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 26 km (16 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 36 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 41 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Alpine County, CA 77 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alpine County
Sierra County, CA 96 km (60 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sierra 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. 1.5 5 km S of Floriston, California
  2. 1.5 6 km W of Dayton, Nevada
  3. 2.2 12km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
  4. 2.9 12km N of Tahoe Vista, CA
  5. 1.6 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
  6. 2.3 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
  7. 2.1 12km N of Kings Beach, CA
  8. 2.1 12km NNE of Tahoe Vista, CA
  9. 1.5 11 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
  10. 1.5 11 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
  11. 1.6 19 km NE of Yerington, Nevada
  12. 1.8 12 km SE of Virginia City, NV
  13. 2.8 12 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
  14. 1.6 12 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
  15. 1.8 8 km NNE of Incline Village, 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.