QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardnerville Ranchos in the 24 hours to 4:28 am PST (12:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 30 km (18 mi) W, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV, at 3:40 am PDT on 8 April 2019 (10:40 UTC), 7.6 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SSW of Carter Springs, Nevada

85 km (53 mi) S of Reno, NV · 40 km (25 mi) S of Carson, NV

3:40 am PDT, Apr 8, 2019 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 13 kmAlpine County 22 kmCarson City 40 kmLyon County 48 kmStorey County 72 kmEl Dorado County 75 kmTuolumne County 90 kmAmador County 94 kmPlacer County 96 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
3:40 am PDT on 8 April 2019 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV · earthquakes near Gardnerville Ranchos
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 13 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
East Carson Valley fault, 1 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 2775 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardnerville Ranchos, 12 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: Topaz Ranch Estates, East Valley, Gardnerville, Minden, Smith Valley, Johnson Lane.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 3 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 22 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 4 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 28 km SSE 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 38.7960, -119.6679. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, NV 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Alpine County, CA 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alpine County
Carson City, NV 40 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 48 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lyon County
Storey County, NV 72 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Storey County
El Dorado County, CA 75 km (47 mi) W 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.

  1. 1.9 17 km WNW of Yerington, Nevada
  2. 2.1 32km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 2.2 20km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  4. 1.6 Nevada
  5. 1.6 5 km SE of Carson City, Nevada
  6. 2.1 4 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  7. 1.6 5 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  8. 1.5 5 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  9. 2.2 4 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  10. 1.6 4 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  11. 1.9 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  12. 2.1 5 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  13. 1.5 4 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  14. 3.2 4 km NE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  15. 2.0 6 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada

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.