QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 11:50 pm PST (07:50 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

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 27 km (17 mi) east of Reno, NV, at 1:28 pm PST on 18 December 2023 (21:28 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

USGS: 20 km WSW of Wadsworth, Nevada

30 km (19 mi) E of Reno, NV · 19 km (12 mi) E of Sparks, NV

1:28 pm PST, Dec 18, 2023 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 13 kmCarson City 49 kmLyon County 64 kmDouglas County 72 kmSierra County 88 kmChurchill County 106 kmAlpine County 106 kmNevada County 113 kmPlacer 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
1:28 pm PST on 18 December 2023 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) east of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 13 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Olinghouse fault, 6 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 1058 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 27 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, Sparks, Stagecoach, Sun Valley, Silver Springs.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 13 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 27 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 24 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 42 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 39.5487, -119.4965. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 13 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 49 km (30 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 64 km (40 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 72 km (45 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Sierra County, CA 88 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Churchill County, NV 106 km (66 mi) E earthquakes near Churchill County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km S of Virginia City, Nevada
  2. 1.8 2 km S of Virginia City, Nevada
  3. 2.0 12 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  4. 1.5 3 km S of Virginia City, Nevada
  5. 1.9 9 km ESE of Sparks, Nevada
  6. 1.5 9 km N of Lemmon Valley, Nevada
  7. 1.7 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  8. 1.5 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  9. 2.0 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  10. 1.6 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  11. 3.2 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  12. 1.9 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  13. 1.9 10 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  14. 2.0 11 km NNW of Virginia City, Nevada
  15. 2.7 11 km NNW of Virginia City, 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.