QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 2:08 am PST (10:08 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Reno, NV, at 11:59 pm PST on 3 December 2022 (07:59 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 11 km SW of Nixon, Nevada

41 km (26 mi) NE of Reno, NV · 31 km (19 mi) NE of Sparks, NV

11:59 pm PST, Dec 3, 2022 · · 10 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 37 kmCarson City 73 kmLyon County 86 kmSierra County 93 kmDouglas County 97 kmChurchill County 106 kmWashoe County 108 kmPershing County 116 kmPlumas County 119 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
11:59 pm PST on 3 December 2022 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) northeast of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 37 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Pyramid Lake fault, 8 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 1439 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 40 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Spanish Springs, Fernley.

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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 29 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 42 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 16 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 12 km SSE of Reno, Nevada · 48 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 1 km NW of Mogul, Nevada · 49 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 39.7702, -119.4603. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 37 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 73 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 86 km (54 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lyon County
Sierra County, CA 93 km (58 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Douglas County, NV 97 km (60 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Churchill County, NV 106 km (66 mi) ESE earthquakes near Churchill County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 4 km E of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  2. 2.3 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  3. 1.8 6 km SSE of Cold Springs, Nevada
  4. 1.9 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  5. 2.5 6 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  6. 2.0 Nevada
  7. 2.8 6 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  8. 1.5 15 km WNW of Wadsworth, Nevada
  9. 2.4 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  10. 1.6 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  11. 1.6 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.6 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  13. 2.3 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  14. 1.6 7 km S of Cold Springs, Nevada
  15. 1.6 6 km S of Cold Springs, 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.