Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 11:30 am PST (19:30 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 7:27 pm PDT on 24 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Spanish Springs
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Spanish Springs, NV, at 4:37 am PDT on 8 August 2020 (11:37 UTC), 5.3 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: Nevada
57 km (35 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 51 km (32 mi) N of Sparks, NV
- When
- 4:37 am PDT on 8 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 66 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Warm Springs Valley fault, 16 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2287 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Spanish Springs, NV
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 Spanish Springs, 43 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.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 40 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 45 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 44 km W 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 40.0257, -119.6042. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 66 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Washoe County, NV | 79 km (49 mi) | N | earthquakes near Washoe County |
| Sierra County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Carson City, NV | 98 km (61 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Plumas County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Pershing County, NV | 111 km (69 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Pershing County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 14 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 1.5 21 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 3.3 22 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.3 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.5 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.7 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 29 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.9 16 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.9 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.5 29 km E of Herlong, California
- 1.5 10 km ENE of Doyle, California
- 1.5 27 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.8 13 km ESE of Herlong, California
- 1.9 6 km NNW of Nixon, Nevada
- 2.1 8 km W of Wadsworth, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.