QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Silver Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Silver Springs in the 24 hours to 10:43 pm PST (06:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 20 km (12 mi) ESE, at 2:34 am PDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Silver Springs

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east of Silver Springs, NV, at 3:03 pm PDT on 4 April 2021 (22:03 UTC), 5.3 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 10 km E of Silver Springs, Nevada

66 km (41 mi) ESE of Reno, NV · 56 km (35 mi) ESE of Sparks, NV

3:03 pm PDT, Apr 4, 2021 · · 5.3 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Silver Springs Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 37 kmLyon County 44 kmCarson City 63 kmDouglas County 71 kmChurchill County 73 kmAlpine County 107 kmMineral County 116 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
3:03 pm PDT on 4 April 2021 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east of Silver Springs, NV · earthquakes near Silver Springs
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 37 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Carson lineament, 6 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 2048 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Silver Springs, 11 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: Silver Springs 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. 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

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

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 46 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 32 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 16 km E of Fallon Station, Nevada · 49 km E 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 39.4107, -119.0977. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Storey County
Lyon County, NV 44 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 63 km (39 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 71 km (44 mi) SW earthquakes near Douglas County
Churchill County, NV 73 km (45 mi) ENE earthquakes near Churchill County
Alpine County, CA 107 km (66 mi) SW earthquakes near Alpine County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 Nevada
  2. 1.5 20 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  3. 1.6 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  4. 1.6 19 km WSW of Fallon, Nevada
  5. 1.6 26 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  6. 1.5 15 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  7. 1.6 10 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  8. 2.1 14 km NE of Virginia City, Nevada
  9. 2.0 11 km NE of Silver Springs, Nevada
  10. 1.9 6 km SE of Silver Springs, Nevada
  11. 1.6 Nevada
  12. 2.1 12 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  13. 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  14. 1.8 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
  15. 1.6 14 km E of Fernley, 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.