Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Fernley, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Fernley in the 24 hours to 8:59 pm PST (04:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 14 km (9 mi) E, at 7:39 pm PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fernley
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Fernley, NV, at 2:15 am PDT on 13 April 2021 (09:15 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 6 km NNW of Nixon, Nevada
55 km (34 mi) NE of Reno, NV · 45 km (28 mi) NE of Sparks, NV
- When
- 2:15 am PDT on 13 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 33 km (21 mi) north-northwest of Fernley, NV · earthquakes near Fernley
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 51 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pyramid Lake fault, 12 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 2039 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fernley, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fernley, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Fernley, 33 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.
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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 41 km S of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 22 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada · 35 km ENE 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 39.8869, -119.3850. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 51 km (32 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 87 km (54 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Washoe County, NV | 97 km (60 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Washoe County |
| Lyon County, NV | 97 km (61 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Sierra County, CA | 103 km (64 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Pershing County, NV | 103 km (64 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Pershing 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.
- 1.5 30 km E of Herlong, California
- 2.2 8 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.9 30 km E of Herlong, California
- 2.6 14 km ESE of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.5 10 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
- 1.7 30 km ENE of Herlong, California
- 2.0 17 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.7 23 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.8 30 km E of Herlong, California
- 1.7 16 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 1.7 23 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.1 19 km NE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.0 19 km NNE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.2 19 km NE of Sutcliffe, Nevada
- 2.2 20 km NE 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.