QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 2:32 pm PST (22:32 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Reno, NV, at 4:34 pm PST on 25 December 2018 (00:34 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 9 km NW of Loyalton, California

45 km (28 mi) WNW of Reno, NV

4:34 pm PST, Dec 25, 2018 · · 13 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 26 kmPlumas County 52 kmNevada County 64 kmStorey County 75 kmCarson City 81 kmPlacer County 84 kmYuba County 103 kmEl Dorado County 108 kmDouglas County 111 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
4:34 pm PST on 25 December 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 26 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Mohawk Valley fault, 16 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 2879 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 48 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: Portola, Cold Springs.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 10,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 39 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 10 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 36 km SSW 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 39.7435, -120.3059. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 52 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Nevada County, CA 64 km (40 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Storey County, NV 75 km (47 mi) ESE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 81 km (51 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Placer County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSW earthquakes near Placer 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. 1.6 5 km N of Truckee, California
  2. 1.9 Nevada
  3. 2.0 21km NW of Truckee, CA
  4. 1.5 8 km ESE of Milford, California
  5. 2.4 5km SE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  6. 1.8 11 km E of Doyle, California
  7. 1.5 9 km NNW of Truckee, California
  8. 1.5 16 km SE of Sierraville, California
  9. 2.1 19km W of Truckee, CA
  10. 1.5 6 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  11. 1.6 7 km SSE of Sierraville, California
  12. 2.3 10km ESE of Taylorsville, CA
  13. 1.9 4km SSE of Johnsville, CA
  14. 2.3 11km NE of Cromberg, CA
  15. 2.3 2km ESE of Johnsville, CA

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.