Earthquake near Indian Hills, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Indian Hills in the 24 hours to 4:03 am PST (12:03 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) E, at 9:41 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Indian Hills

This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Indian Hills, NV, at 5:24 am PST on 20 December 2018 (13:24 UTC), 8.1 km deep. 375 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada

in Carson, NV · 50 km (31 mi) SSE of Reno, NV

5:24 am PST, Dec 20, 2018 · 2018-12-20 13:24 UTC · 8.1 km deep · released about 3.8 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Indian Hills Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 5:24 am PST on 20 December 2018 (2018-12-20 13:24 UTC)
Where: 6 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Indian Hills, NV · earthquakes near Indian Hills
Magnitude: M 3.6 (ml)
Depth: 8.1 km below the surface
Felt: 375 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking: intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest: Carson City, 5 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault: East Carson Valley fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2820 days ago · we first saw it 2820 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 69 km (43 mi) from the epicentre. In Indian Hills, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Carson City 7 km, intensity III · Gardnerville Ranchos 25 km, intensity III · South Lake Tahoe 30 km, intensity II · Tahoe Vista 31 km, intensity II · Sunnyside-Tahoe City 38 km, intensity II · Truckee 46 km, intensity II · Topaz Ranch Estates 46 km, intensity II · Reno 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× more

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:

6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 36 km ENE of this epicentre Jun 25, 1933
6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 33 km SSE of this epicentre Sep 12, 1994
6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 43 km N of this epicentre Feb 18, 1914
5.5 California-Nevada border region · 47 km ESE of this epicentre Jan 11, 1939
5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 31 km SSW of this epicentre Dec 17, 1942

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Carson City, NV	5 km (3 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV	25 km (16 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Douglas County
Storey County, NV	40 km (25 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Storey County
Lyon County, NV	47 km (29 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Lyon County
Alpine County, CA	55 km (34 mi)	S	earthquakes near Alpine County
El Dorado County, CA	79 km (49 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near El Dorado 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.

2.7 4km N of Dollar Point, CA 08:08 UTC
1.6 3 km NNE of Truckee, California 13:38 UTC
2.2 3 km NE of Mesa Vista, California 21:00 UTC
1.5 5 km S of Floriston, California 09:19 UTC
2.7 5 km SSE of Floriston, California 08:13 UTC
1.6 5 km N of Truckee, California 10:35 UTC
1.5 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada 20:14 UTC
2.8 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada 02:11 UTC
2.5 9km SE of Dollar Point, CA 10:23 UTC
2.1 12 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada 15:20 UTC
1.9 5 km NNE of Johnson Lane, Nevada 14:52 UTC
2.1 4 km NNE of Johnson Lane, Nevada 14:19 UTC
3.2 11 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada 07:00 UTC
1.5 10 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada 00:54 UTC
1.9 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada 19:41 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 12:03 UTC. 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.