QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 3:38 pm PST (23:38 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 7:27 pm PDT on 24 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Spanish Springs

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV, at 9:48 pm PDT on 2 November 2021 (04:48 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada

59 km (37 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 55 km (34 mi) N of Sparks, NV

9:48 pm PDT, Nov 2, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Spanish Springs Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 71 kmWashoe County 74 kmSierra County 90 kmPlumas County 98 kmCarson City 102 kmLassen County 107 kmPershing County 116 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
9:48 pm PDT on 2 November 2021 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 71 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Warm Springs Valley fault, 15 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 1835 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 Spanish Springs, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 30,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 33 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 38 km WSW 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 40.0653, -119.6817. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 71 km (44 mi) S earthquakes near Storey County
Washoe County, NV 74 km (46 mi) N earthquakes near Washoe County
Sierra County, CA 90 km (56 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Plumas County
Carson City, NV 102 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Carson City
Lassen County, CA 107 km (67 mi) NW earthquakes near Lassen 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. 1.6 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  2. 1.7 40 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  3. 1.6 40 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  4. 2.5 40 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  5. 2.2 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  6. 1.6 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  7. 1.6 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  8. 1.8 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  9. 1.6 42 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  10. 1.6 40 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  11. 1.9 39 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  12. 1.6 39 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  13. 1.7 40 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  14. 3.3 41 km NNE of Nixon, Nevada
  15. 2.1 40 km NNE of Nixon, 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.