QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

31 km SSW of Empire, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 31 km SSW of Empire, Nevada, 90 km (56 mi) NNE of Reno, NV, at 6:30 pm PDT on 4 September 2023 (01:30 UTC), 10 km deep.

90 km (56 mi) NNE of Reno, NV

· 10 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washoe County 47 kmPershing County 95 kmStorey County 98 kmLassen County 103 kmPlumas County 117 kmSierra 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
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washoe County, 47 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Terraced Hills fault, 16 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 1164 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. 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 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 40.3223, -119.5214. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washoe County, NV 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near Washoe County
Pershing County, NV 95 km (59 mi) E earthquakes near Pershing County
Storey County, NV 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Storey County
Lassen County, CA 103 km (64 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lassen County
Plumas County, CA 117 km (72 mi) WSW earthquakes near Plumas County
Sierra County, CA 119 km (74 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra 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. 3.4 25 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  2. 2.5 20 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  3. 1.7 31 km W of Gerlach, Nevada
  4. 3.6 21 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  5. 3.3 17 km W of Empire, Nevada
  6. 3.5 21 km W of Empire, Nevada
  7. 3.8 21 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  8. 1.6 29 km W of Gerlach, Nevada
  9. 2.2 22 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  10. 2.5 23 km WSW of Gerlach, Nevada
  11. 1.7 8 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  12. 3.4 21 km W of Empire, Nevada
  13. 2.2 29 km W of Empire, Nevada
  14. 2.3 18 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
  15. 1.8 19 km NNW of Sutcliffe, 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.