QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Dayton, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 12:55 pm PST (20:55 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 49 km (30 mi) E, at 6:36 pm PDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Dayton

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Dayton, NV, at 6:16 pm PDT on 9 September 2021 (01:16 UTC), 5.4 km deep.

USGS: 5 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada

11 km (7 mi) ENE of Carson, NV · 44 km (27 mi) SSE of Reno, NV

6:16 pm PDT, Sep 9, 2021 · · 5.4 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dayton Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 11 kmStorey County 28 kmDouglas County 32 kmLyon County 42 kmAlpine County 66 kmSierra County 88 kmEl Dorado County 91 kmPlacer County 96 kmNevada County 99 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
6:16 pm PDT on 9 September 2021 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Dayton, NV · earthquakes near Dayton
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carson City, 11 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Carson City fault, 11 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 1889 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 5 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: Carson City 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 2020-03-21 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 27 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 42 km S of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 43 km ESE 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 39.1960, -119.6274. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 11 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 28 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Storey County
Douglas County, NV 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 42 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lyon County
Alpine County, CA 66 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alpine County
Sierra County, CA 88 km (55 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sierra County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 14km N of Kings Beach, CA
  2. 2.1 14km NNW of Incline Village-Crystal Bay, NV
  3. 1.5 2 km ESE of Truckee, California
  4. 1.8 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  5. 2.3 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  6. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  7. 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  8. 1.5 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  9. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  10. 1.6 7km ESE of Mesa Vista, CA
  11. 2.4 Nevada
  12. 2.1 6 km SE of Floriston, California
  13. 2.8 6 km SE of Floriston, California
  14. 2.8 6 km SE of Floriston, California
  15. 1.6 6 km SE of Floriston, California

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.