Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Gardnerville Ranchos in the 24 hours to 2:29 pm PST (22:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 30 km (18 mi) W, at 11:58 pm PDT on 2 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 85 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV, at 2:47 pm PST on 17 January 2023 (22:47 UTC), 8.3 km deep.
USGS: 2 km NNW of Walker, California
- When
- 2:47 pm PST on 17 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV · earthquakes near Gardnerville Ranchos
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Alpine County, 29 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Antelope Valley fault, 1 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 1395 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gardnerville Ranchos, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardnerville Ranchos, 45 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: Topaz Ranch Estates, Smith Valley.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- 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 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.1 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.2 23 km S of Walker, California · 27 km S of this epicentre
- 5.1 19 km W of Bridgeport, California · 36 km S of this epicentre
- 5.1 8 km ESE of Mesa Vista, California · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.0 Near Coleville, California · 5 km NNW 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 38.5406, -119.4843. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine County, CA | 29 km (18 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
| Douglas County, NV | 42 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Lyon County, NV | 59 km (37 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Tuolumne County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tuolumne County |
| Carson City, NV | 72 km (45 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Mono County, CA | 88 km (54 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mono 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.
- 1.6 California-Nevada border region
- 1.5 3 km NE of Carter Springs, Nevada
- 2.6 14 km WNW of Bridgeport, CA
- 2.5 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
- 1.5 0 km E of Coleville, California
- 3.6 6 km NNW of Walker, CA
- 1.5 2 km SSW of Coleville, California
- 2.3 6 km WNW of Walker, CA
- 2.3 5 km SW of Walker, CA
- 2.3 3 km WSW of Walker, CA
- 2.8 4 km WSW of Walker, CA
- 1.5 4 km WNW of Walker, California
- 1.6 California-Nevada border region
- 3.1 7 km WNW of Walker, CA
- 3.1 4 km W of Walker, CA
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.