QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 6:56 pm PST (02:56 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) southwest of Reno, NV, at 7:24 pm PDT on 19 September 2021 (02:24 UTC), 7.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Floriston, California

17 km (11 mi) SSW of Reno, NV

7:24 pm PDT, Sep 19, 2021 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carson City 33 kmStorey County 36 kmSierra County 53 kmDouglas County 63 kmNevada County 73 kmLyon County 77 kmPlacer County 78 kmEl Dorado County 87 kmAlpine County 89 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
7:24 pm PDT on 19 September 2021 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) southwest of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Carson City, 33 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Mount Rose fault, 7 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 1879 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 17 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Mogul, Verdi, Incline Village, Kings Beach, Sparks, Tahoe Vista.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 53,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 15 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 20 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 28 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 11 km N of Soda Springs, California · 40 km W 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, -119.9371. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carson City, NV 33 km (20 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Storey County, NV 36 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Storey County
Sierra County, CA 53 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sierra County
Douglas County, NV 63 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Douglas County
Nevada County, CA 73 km (45 mi) W earthquakes near Nevada County
Lyon County, NV 77 km (48 mi) SE earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 2 km ESE of Truckee, California
  2. 1.8 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  3. 2.3 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  4. 2.0 12km NW of Truckee, CA
  5. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  6. 1.5 15 km WNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  7. 1.5 5 km ENE of Indian Hills, Nevada
  8. 1.6 3km ENE of Dollar Point, CA
  9. 3.1 10km ESE of Loyalton, CA
  10. 2.8 15km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  11. 2.1 4 km SSE of Cold Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.5 4 km SE of Cold Springs, Nevada
  13. 2.4 Nevada
  14. 2.2 16km WSW of Loyalton, CA
  15. 2.1 17km SSW of Loyalton, CA

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.