QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 1:45 pm PST (21:45 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV, at 12:52 am PDT on 6 May 2019 (07:52 UTC), 9.1 km deep.

USGS: 13 km SSE of Doyle, California

44 km (27 mi) NNW of Reno, NV

12:52 am PDT, May 6, 2019 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 56 kmPlumas County 67 kmStorey County 69 kmCarson City 88 kmNevada County 93 kmWashoe County 96 kmLassen County 102 kmPlacer County 112 kmDouglas County 118 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
12:52 am PDT on 6 May 2019 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north-northwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 56 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley fault, under 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 2748 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 47 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: Cold Springs.

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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 30,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 41 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 19 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 26 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 43 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 10 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 39.9152, -120.0393. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 56 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 67 km (42 mi) W earthquakes near Plumas County
Storey County, NV 69 km (43 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 88 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 93 km (58 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Washoe County, NV 96 km (60 mi) NNE earthquakes near Washoe 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. 1.7 8 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  2. 2.2 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  3. 1.5 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  4. 1.8 9 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  5. 2.3 7km NW of Verdi-Mogul, NV
  6. 1.7 21 km NNE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  7. 1.6 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  8. 1.6 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  9. 1.5 16 km ENE of Doyle, California
  10. 2.4 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  11. 2.3 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.8 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  13. 1.7 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  14. 1.7 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  15. 1.5 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, 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.