QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near South Lake Tahoe, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Lake Tahoe in the 24 hours to 9:06 am PST (17:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 10 km (6 mi) WSW, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA, at 4:49 pm PST on 9 November 2017 (00:49 UTC), 7.5 km deep.

USGS: 18 km S of Markleeville, California

4:49 pm PST, Nov 9, 2017 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Lake Tahoe Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 10 kmDouglas County 44 kmTuolumne County 59 kmCarson City 69 kmEl Dorado County 72 kmLyon County 74 kmAmador County 78 kmCalaveras County 78 kmPlacer County 102 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
4:49 pm PST on 9 November 2017 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) south-southeast of South Lake Tahoe, CA · earthquakes near South Lake Tahoe
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 10 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Genoa fault, 8 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

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In South Lake Tahoe, 49 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 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 35 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 39 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 28 km N 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 38.5306, -119.7670. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 10 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 44 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Tuolumne County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Carson City, NV 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
El Dorado County, CA 72 km (45 mi) WNW earthquakes near El Dorado County
Lyon County, NV 74 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 13km WNW of Bridgeport, CA
  2. 2.3 26km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  3. 2.4 9km NE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 1.6 7 km SSW of Markleeville, California
  5. 2.1 24km SSW of Smith Valley, NV
  6. 1.5 California-Nevada border region
  7. 2.4 19km E of Markleeville, CA
  8. 2.5 8km NE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 2.3 7km NE of Markleeville, CA
  10. 2.3 7km SSW of Markleeville, CA
  11. 1.7 7 km SSW of Carter Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.5 5 km NW of Topaz, California
  13. 2.3 3km W of Markleeville, CA
  14. 1.5 7 km NE of Markleeville, California
  15. 1.5 8 km NE of Markleeville, California

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.