QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 9:31 am PST (17:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Reno

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) southwest of Reno, NV, at 11:17 pm PST on 23 February 2018 (07:17 UTC), 5.8 km deep.

USGS: 5 km S of Floriston, California

28 km (17 mi) SSW of Reno, NV

11:17 pm PST, Feb 23, 2018 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 32 kmStorey County 44 kmSierra County 50 kmDouglas County 60 kmNevada County 64 kmPlacer County 68 kmEl Dorado County 76 kmLyon County 80 kmAlpine County 82 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
11:17 pm PST on 23 February 2018 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) southwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carson City, 32 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
North Tahoe fault, 4 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 3184 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 28 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Incline Village, Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach, Truckee, Dollar Point, Verdi.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 26 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 21 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 34 km WNW 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 39.3409, -120.0240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 44 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Storey County
Sierra County, CA 50 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sierra County
Douglas County, NV 60 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas County
Nevada County, CA 64 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 68 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Placer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 6 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  2. 2.2 9 km NNE of Glenbrook, Nevada
  3. 1.7 10 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  4. 3.0 4km WSW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  5. 1.7 11 km SSW of Kingvale, California
  6. 1.6 0 km WNW of Carnelian Bay, California
  7. 1.6 13 km SE of Sparks, Nevada
  8. 2.1 0 km WNW of Skyland, Nevada
  9. 1.7 1 km W of Carnelian Bay, California
  10. 1.6 4 km WSW of Sattley, California
  11. 1.5 4 km WSW of Sattley, California
  12. 1.6 5 km WSW of Sattley, California
  13. 1.6 1 km WNW of Carnelian Bay, California
  14. 1.6 8 km NE of Incline Village, Nevada
  15. 2.3 8 km NE 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.