QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Truckee, CA

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Truckee in the last 24 hours. M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) NNE of Truckee, at 7:32 am PST on 13 November 2026 (15:32 UTC); the estimated shaking in Truckee was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Truckee

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north of Truckee, CA, at 2:35 am PST on 4 December 2019 (10:35 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 5 km N of Truckee, California

34 km (21 mi) SW of Reno, NV

2:35 am PST, Dec 4, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Truckee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 37 kmCarson City 45 kmNevada County 52 kmStorey County 56 kmPlacer County 59 kmDouglas County 72 kmEl Dorado County 73 kmPlumas County 88 kmAlpine County 90 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
2:35 am PST on 4 December 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north of Truckee, CA · earthquakes near Truckee
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 37 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Polaris 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 2536 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Truckee, 6 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: Tahoe Vista, Kings Beach, Verdi, Dollar Point, Incline Village, Sunnyside-Tahoe City.

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 · 35 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 7 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 38 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 20 km WNW 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 39.3797, -120.1752. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 37 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Sierra County
Carson City, NV 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Carson City
Nevada County, CA 52 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County
Storey County, NV 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County
Placer County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County
Douglas County, NV 72 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  2. 1.7 4 km E of Cold Springs, Nevada
  3. 2.0 10 km SSW of Kingvale, California
  4. 1.8 8 km E of Floriston, California
  5. 2.1 8 km E of Floriston, California
  6. 1.7 8 km E of Floriston, California
  7. 1.8 8 km E of Floriston, California
  8. 2.5 20km NW of Truckee, CA
  9. 2.2 14km SW of Whitehawk, CA
  10. 2.6 15km NW of Truckee, CA
  11. 2.1 16km NW of Truckee, CA
  12. 2.0 8km SSW of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  13. 1.6 11 km S of Reno, Nevada
  14. 2.1 8km N of Truckee, CA
  15. 1.8 15km NW of Truckee, 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.