QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Cold Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Cold Springs in the 24 hours to 9:28 am PST (17:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 10:33 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 242 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cold Springs

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Cold Springs, NV, at 12:16 am PST on 13 February 2019 (08:16 UTC), 7.9 km deep.

USGS: 9 km SSW of Cold Springs, Nevada

17 km (11 mi) WNW of Reno, NV

12:16 am PST, Feb 13, 2019 · · 7.9 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cold Springs Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 42 kmStorey County 48 kmCarson City 56 kmNevada County 72 kmPlumas County 80 kmPlacer County 85 kmDouglas County 86 kmLyon County 97 kmEl Dorado County 101 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
12:16 am PST on 13 February 2019 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Cold Springs, NV · earthquakes near Cold Springs
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 42 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley fault, 2 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 2830 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 Cold Springs, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Verdi, Mogul, Lemmon Valley, Golden Valley, Reno, Sun Valley.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. 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

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 · 24 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 8 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 31 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 19 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 37 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 39.6089, -120.0353. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 42 km (26 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Storey County, NV 48 km (30 mi) ESE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 56 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 72 km (45 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada County
Plumas County, CA 80 km (50 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Placer County, CA 85 km (53 mi) SW 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. 2.8 6km WSW of Cold Springs, NV
  2. 1.6 1 km SSE of Golden Valley, Nevada
  3. 2.7 4km N of Dollar Point, CA
  4. 1.6 3 km NNE of Truckee, California
  5. 1.5 5 km S of Floriston, California
  6. 2.7 5 km SSE of Floriston, California
  7. 1.6 5 km N of Truckee, California
  8. 1.9 Nevada
  9. 2.0 21km NW of Truckee, CA
  10. 2.1 12 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  11. 1.9 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  12. 3.1 4km WNW of Tahoe Vista, CA
  13. 2.4 5km SE of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  14. 1.8 11 km E of Doyle, California
  15. 1.5 9 km NNW of Truckee, 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.