Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 4:35 am PST (12:35 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 7:27 pm PDT on 24 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Spanish Springs
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV, at 8:53 am PDT on 19 April 2017 (15:53 UTC), 13 km deep.
USGS: 15 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
60 km (37 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 55 km (34 mi) N of Sparks, NV
- When
- 8:53 am PDT on 19 April 2017 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 72 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Terraced Hills fault, 15 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 3057 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Spanish Springs, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Spanish Springs, 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 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Spanish Springs, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 7,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 32 km W of this epicentre
- 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 37 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 40.0714, -119.6871. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 72 km (45 mi) | S | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Washoe County, NV | 73 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Washoe County |
| Sierra County, CA | 90 km (56 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Plumas County, CA | 97 km (60 mi) | W | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Carson City, NV | 102 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Lassen County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lassen County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 40 km SW of Empire, Nevada
- 2.1 40 km ENE of Herlong, California
- 1.5 32 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.9 41 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.7 38 km ENE of Herlong, California
- 1.5 39 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.7 39 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.5 38 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.6 20 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.5 22 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
- 1.7 4 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 27 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
- 1.7 27 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
- 2.1 27 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
- 2.1 8 km N of Sutcliffe, 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.