QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Dayton, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 10:31 pm PST (06:31 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (30 mi) E, at 6:36 pm PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Dayton

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Dayton, NV, at 5:54 pm PDT on 31 October 2019 (00:54 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 10 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada

11 km (7 mi) E of Carson, NV · 48 km (30 mi) SSE of Reno, NV

5:54 pm PDT, Oct 31, 2019 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dayton Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 11 kmDouglas County 27 kmStorey County 33 kmLyon County 39 kmAlpine County 61 kmEl Dorado County 89 kmSierra County 91 kmPlacer County 95 kmNevada County 100 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
5:54 pm PDT on 31 October 2019 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Dayton, NV · earthquakes near Dayton
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carson City, 11 km W
Nearest mapped fault
East Carson Valley fault, 7 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 2569 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 Dayton, 10 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: Carson City, Johnson Lane, Indian Hills, East Valley, Minden, Gardnerville.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 26 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 37 km S of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 40 km ESE 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 39.1497, -119.6238. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 27 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Storey County, NV 33 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Storey County
Lyon County, NV 39 km (25 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lyon County
Alpine County, CA 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alpine County
El Dorado County, CA 89 km (55 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

47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.2 4 km S of Dayton, Nevada
  2. 2.2 4 km S of Dayton, Nevada
  3. 2.7 4 km S of Dayton, Nevada
  4. 1.6 4 km S of Dayton, Nevada
  5. 1.5 13 km SE of Sparks, Nevada
  6. 1.8 8 km E of Floriston, California
  7. 2.1 8 km E of Floriston, California
  8. 1.7 8 km E of Floriston, California
  9. 1.8 8 km E of Floriston, California
  10. 1.8 10 km NW of Topaz Lake, Nevada
  11. 1.6 11 km S of Reno, Nevada
  12. 2.2 3km NE of Dollar Point, CA
  13. 2.0 18 km WNW of Yerington, Nevada
  14. 1.6 17 km WNW of Yerington, Nevada
  15. 1.9 17 km WNW of Yerington, 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.