QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Topaz Ranch Estates in the 24 hours to 4:36 am PST (12:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) SW, at 6:36 pm PDT on 29 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV, at 11:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2021 (06:02 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 8 km NE of Topaz, California

11:02 pm PDT, Sep 30, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Topaz Ranch Estates Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 31 kmAlpine County 32 kmLyon County 45 kmCarson City 61 kmTuolumne County 85 kmStorey County 86 kmMineral County 90 kmEl Dorado County 96 kmMono County 97 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
11:02 pm PDT on 30 September 2021 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) southeast of Topaz Ranch Estates, NV · earthquakes near Topaz Ranch Estates
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 31 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Antelope Valley fault, 5 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 1857 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Topaz Ranch Estates, 10 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: Smith Valley, Smith.

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 6.0 on 2021-07-08 — about 5,600,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 25 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 California-Nevada border region · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 41 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 10 km SE of South Lake Tahoe, California · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 49 km S 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 38.6652, -119.4355. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, NV 31 km (19 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Alpine County, CA 32 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Alpine County
Lyon County, NV 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 61 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Tuolumne County, CA 85 km (53 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tuolumne County
Storey County, NV 86 km (54 mi) N earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  2. 1.8 28km SE of Markleeville, CA
  3. 2.3 31km NNW of Bridgeport, CA
  4. 1.6 31km SE of Markleeville, CA
  5. 1.6 30km NE of Dardanelle, CA
  6. 1.8 29km S of Smith Valley, NV
  7. 1.6 32km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  8. 2.0 29km SE of Markleeville, CA
  9. 2.3 7 km WNW of Topaz Ranch Estates, Nevada
  10. 1.7 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  11. 1.5 28km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  12. 1.6 31km ENE of Dardanelle, CA
  13. 1.5 30km SE of Markleeville, CA
  14. 1.6 30km ESE of Markleeville, CA
  15. 1.5 29km S of Smith Valley, NV

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.