QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Janesville, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Janesville in the 24 hours to 8:44 pm PST (04:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 9 km (6 mi) E, at 8:04 pm PDT on 4 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Janesville

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) east-northeast of Janesville, CA, at 5:58 am PST on 21 November 2022 (13:58 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 29 km NNE of Herlong, California

93 km (58 mi) N of Reno, NV

5:58 am PST, Nov 21, 2022 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washoe County 47 kmLassen County 66 kmPlumas County 84 kmSierra County 101 kmStorey County 112 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
5:58 am PST on 21 November 2022 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) east-northeast of Janesville, CA · earthquakes near Janesville
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washoe County, 47 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Dry Valley-Smoke Creek Ranch fault, 2 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 1453 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Janesville, 47 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 7,400 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 · 34 km SSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 45 km SSW 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 40.3794, -119.9776. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washoe County, NV 47 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Washoe County
Lassen County, CA 66 km (41 mi) NW earthquakes near Lassen County
Plumas County, CA 84 km (52 mi) WSW earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 101 km (62 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Storey County, NV 112 km (69 mi) SSE earthquakes near Storey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 17 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  2. 2.0 14 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  3. 1.6 22 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  4. 2.6 31 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  5. 2.5 32 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  6. 1.7 37 km W of Empire, Nevada
  7. 1.6 34 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  8. 1.9 18 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  9. 2.6 22 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  10. 1.6 16 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  11. 1.8 12 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  12. 2.1 18 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  13. 2.3 19 km NW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  14. 2.5 16 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  15. 2.0 33 km NNE of Herlong, 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.