Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Reno, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 12:52 am PST (08:52 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north of Reno, NV, at 3:28 pm PST on 8 January 2021 (23:28 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 3 km N of Reno, Nevada
in Reno, NV
- When
- 3:28 pm PST on 8 January 2021 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 28 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Spanish Springs Valley fault, 14 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 2134 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Reno, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Reno, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 3 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.
Likely felt in: Reno 3 km, intensity II · Sparks 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 40 km E of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 7 km S of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 23 km W of this epicentre
- 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 38 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 39.5600, -119.8109. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 28 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 46 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Sierra County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | W | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Douglas County, NV | 75 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Lyon County, NV | 80 km (50 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Nevada County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Nevada County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
35 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.7 20km NW of Truckee, CA
- 3.1 19km NW of Truckee, CA
- 1.6 3 km NNW of Reno, Nevada
- 1.5 15 km SSE of Sierraville, California
- 2.3 11km N of Truckee, CA
- 1.5 6 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
- 1.8 8 km NW of Virginia City, Nevada
- 2.6 4km W of Tahoe Vista, CA
- 1.5 14 km SE of Sparks, Nevada
- 2.1 8 km W of Wadsworth, Nevada
- 2.1 2 km NE of Sun Valley, Nevada
- 1.7 2 km NE of Sun Valley, Nevada
- 1.9 2 km NE of Sun Valley, Nevada
- 1.5 8 km NE of Truckee, California
- 2.1 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.