QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Smith Valley, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Smith Valley in the 24 hours to 1:19 am PST (09:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 7 km (4 mi) SSW, at 5:40 am PDT on 9 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Smith Valley

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Smith Valley, NV, at 8:19 am PDT on 16 October 2018 (15:19 UTC), 4.9 km deep.

USGS: 19 km E of Walker, California

8:19 am PDT, Oct 16, 2018 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Smith Valley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 48 kmDouglas County 53 kmLyon County 56 kmMineral County 73 kmMono County 75 kmCarson City 82 kmTuolumne County 83 kmStorey County 105 kmEl Dorado County 115 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
8:19 am PDT on 16 October 2018 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) south-southeast of Smith Valley, NV · earthquakes near Smith Valley
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 48 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Smith Valley 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 2950 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Smith Valley, 30 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 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.6 on 2016-12-28 — about 1,400,000 times the energy of this one.

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 · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 32 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 23 km E of Bridgeport, California · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 48 km NW 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 38.5187, -119.2567. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 48 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 53 km (33 mi) NW earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 56 km (35 mi) N earthquakes near Lyon County
Mineral County, NV 73 km (45 mi) E earthquakes near Mineral County
Mono County, CA 75 km (47 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mono County
Carson City, NV 82 km (51 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 29 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  2. 1.5 5 km NW of Topaz, California
  3. 1.5 22 km W of Walker Lake, Nevada
  4. 1.5 27 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  5. 1.5 7 km NE of Markleeville, California
  6. 1.5 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  7. 1.5 8 km NE of Markleeville, California
  8. 1.9 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  9. 1.7 29 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  10. 2.3 28 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  11. 2.6 9km NE of Markleeville, CA
  12. 1.8 29 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  13. 2.6 9km NE of Markleeville, CA
  14. 1.5 29 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  15. 1.7 29 km ENE of Bridgeport, 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.