QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Cold Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Cold Springs in the 24 hours to 11:24 am PST (19:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 10:33 pm PDT on 22 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 242 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cold Springs

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Cold Springs, NV, at 4:05 pm PST on 16 November 2023 (00:05 UTC), 4.4 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NW of Cold Springs, Nevada

23 km (14 mi) NW of Reno, NV

4:05 pm PST, Nov 16, 2023 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cold Springs Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sierra County 46 kmStorey County 51 kmCarson City 66 kmPlumas County 76 kmNevada County 80 kmPlacer County 95 kmDouglas County 96 kmLyon County 104 kmEl Dorado County 113 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
4:05 pm PST on 16 November 2023 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) northwest of Cold Springs, NV · earthquakes near Cold Springs
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sierra County, 46 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Upper Long Valley fault, 4 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 1090 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 Cold Springs, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Cold Springs 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. 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 4.7 on 2021-05-07 — about 53,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 30 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 19 km SSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 9 km NW of Truckee, California · 41 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 41 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 16 km W 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 39.7125, -120.0087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sierra County, CA 46 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Storey County, NV 51 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 66 km (41 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carson City
Plumas County, CA 76 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near Plumas County
Nevada County, CA 80 km (50 mi) SW earthquakes near Nevada County
Placer County, CA 95 km (59 mi) SW earthquakes near Placer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  2. 2.7 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  3. 1.9 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  4. 2.2 10 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  5. 3.2 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  6. 2.0 12 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  7. 2.4 17 km N of Truckee, CA
  8. 1.6 9 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada
  9. 1.6 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  10. 1.9 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  11. 3.0 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  12. 1.9 17 km SW of Nixon, Nevada
  13. 1.7 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  14. 2.6 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  15. 3.2 8 km NNE of Truckee, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.