Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 2:18 pm PST (22:18 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV, at 12:05 pm PDT on 19 September 2020 (19:05 UTC), 8.8 km deep.
USGS: 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
60 km (37 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 55 km (34 mi) N of Sparks, NV
- When
- 12:05 pm PDT on 19 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 71 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Terraced Hills fault, 15 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 2242 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Spanish Springs, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV. No account or email needed.
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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Spanish Springs, 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.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 15,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 34 km W of this epicentre
- 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 39 km WSW 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 40.0687, -119.6637. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 71 km (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Washoe County, NV | 74 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Washoe County |
| Sierra County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Plumas County, CA | 99 km (62 mi) | W | earthquakes near Plumas County |
| Carson City, NV | 102 km (63 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Lassen County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lassen County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 4 km NNW of Spanish Springs, Nevada
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 1.5 34 km NE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.6 23 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.6 4 km NE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 30 km WSW of Empire, Nevada
- 1.5 3 km NNE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.9 5 km NNE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.3 4 km NNE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 3.0 24 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.6 10 km ENE of Doyle, California
- 1.7 8 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.8 14 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 1.5 21 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 3.3 22 km N 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
- 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.