QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardnerville Ranchos in the 24 hours to 12:26 pm PST (20:26 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV, at 6:30 pm PDT on 21 August 2023 (01:30 UTC), 7.5 km deep.

USGS: California-Nevada border region

6:30 pm PDT, Aug 21, 2023 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Gardnerville Ranchos Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alpine County 40 kmDouglas County 41 kmLyon County 48 kmCarson City 70 kmMineral County 81 kmTuolumne County 85 kmMono County 87 kmStorey County 94 kmEl Dorado County 106 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
6:30 pm PDT on 21 August 2023 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) southeast of Gardnerville Ranchos, NV · earthquakes near Gardnerville Ranchos
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alpine County, 40 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Smith Valley fault, 5 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 1178 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardnerville Ranchos, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Smith Valley, Topaz Ranch Estates, Smith.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 in our catalogue was M 6.0 on 2021-07-08 — about 4,000,000 times the energy of this one.

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 38.6069, -119.3379. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alpine County, CA 40 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Alpine County
Douglas County, NV 41 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Douglas County
Lyon County, NV 48 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lyon County
Carson City, NV 70 km (44 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carson City
Mineral County, NV 81 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Mineral County
Tuolumne County, CA 85 km (53 mi) SW earthquakes near Tuolumne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 10 km WNW of Bridgeport, CA
  2. 1.7 5 km W of Walker, California
  3. 1.7 1 km NE of East Valley, Nevada
  4. 1.9 4 km W of Walker, California
  5. 2.2 4 km NNW of Walker, CA
  6. 2.3 8 km WNW of Walker, CA
  7. 2.3 9 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
  8. 2.8 8 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
  9. 2.6 8 km NW of Bridgeport, CA
  10. 2.4 5 km NNW of Walker, CA
  11. 1.5 4 km SE of Topaz Ranch Estates, Nevada
  12. 1.5 30 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada
  13. 1.7 1 km SSE of Coleville, California
  14. 2.2 California-Nevada border region
  15. 2.5 13 km NE of Walker, 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.