QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Fallon, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fallon in the 24 hours to 5:17 pm PST (01:17 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 24 km (15 mi) SW, at 12:51 am PDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fallon

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) south-southwest of Fallon, NV, at 3:51 pm PDT on 23 October 2021 (22:51 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 18 km SW of Fallon Station, Nevada

87 km (54 mi) ESE of Reno, NV

3:51 pm PDT, Oct 23, 2021 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fallon Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lyon County 42 kmStorey County 57 kmChurchill County 59 kmCarson City 76 kmDouglas County 77 kmMineral County 97 kmAlpine County 110 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
3:51 pm PDT on 23 October 2021 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) south-southwest of Fallon, NV · earthquakes near Fallon
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lyon County, 42 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Wassuk Range fault, 21 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 1844 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 Fallon, 21 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 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

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

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.5 17 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 32 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.2 The 1954 Rainbow Mountain, Nevada Earthquake · 30 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 40 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.9 21 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada · 25 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 39.3077, -118.8824. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lyon County, NV 42 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Lyon County
Storey County, NV 57 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Storey County
Churchill County, NV 59 km (37 mi) ENE earthquakes near Churchill County
Carson City, NV 76 km (48 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carson City
Douglas County, NV 77 km (48 mi) SW earthquakes near Douglas County
Mineral County, NV 97 km (60 mi) SSE earthquakes near Mineral County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 9 km ESE of Yerington, Nevada
  2. 1.8 6 km N of Yerington, Nevada
  3. 1.5 11 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  4. 2.4 California-Nevada border region
  5. 2.7 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  6. 1.9 29 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  7. 1.5 27 km SSE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  8. 1.5 20 km NNE of Schurz, Nevada
  9. 1.5 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  10. 1.6 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  11. 3.0 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  12. 2.2 8 km SW of Schurz, Nevada
  13. 1.6 19 km WSW of Fallon, Nevada
  14. 2.4 28 km ENE of Fallon Station, Nevada
  15. 1.6 26 km NNE of Schurz, 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.