Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 10:20 pm PST (06:20 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV, at 4:18 pm PDT on 15 May 2018 (23:18 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 17 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
62 km (38 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 57 km (36 mi) N of Sparks, NV
- When
- 4:18 pm PDT on 15 May 2018 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Washoe County, 71 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Terraced Hills fault, 13 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 3104 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Spanish Springs, 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 21,000 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 · 38 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 40.0890, -119.6875. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washoe County, NV | 71 km (44 mi) | N | earthquakes near Washoe County |
| Storey County, NV | 74 km (46 mi) | S | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Sierra County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Plumas County, CA | 97 km (61 mi) | W | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Carson City, NV | 104 km (65 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Lassen County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lassen County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 10 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.8 41 km WSW of Empire, Nevada
- 1.9 Nevada
- 1.5 32 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.4 5km SE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
- 1.8 11 km E of Doyle, California
- 1.5 39 km NE of Herlong, California
- 1.5 13 km SSE of Doyle, California
- 2.6 13km NE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
- 2.2 3 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 13 km SSE of Doyle, California
- 1.5 4 km ENE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.8 3 km ENE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.6 13 km SSE of Doyle, California
- 1.6 12 km NE of Chilcoot-Vinton, 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
- 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.