QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 9:06 pm PST (05:06 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 8 km (5 mi) WSW, at 7:27 pm PDT on 24 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Spanish Springs

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV, at 9:11 pm PDT on 30 April 2024 (04:11 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada

62 km (38 mi) NNE of Reno, NV · 57 km (36 mi) N of Sparks, NV

9:11 pm PDT, Apr 30, 2024 · · 15 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washoe County 71 kmStorey County 74 kmSierra County 91 kmPlumas County 98 kmCarson City 104 kmLassen County 106 kmPershing County 115 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
9:11 pm PDT on 30 April 2024 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) north of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washoe County, 71 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Terraced Hills fault, 13 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 851 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Spanish Springs, 49 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4.5 on 2016-08-04 — about 930 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 6 km NNE of Doyle, California · 32 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 4 km S of Doyle, California · 38 km WSW 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 40.0887, -119.6852. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washoe County, NV 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Washoe County
Storey County, NV 74 km (46 mi) S earthquakes near Storey County
Sierra County, CA 91 km (57 mi) SW earthquakes near Sierra County
Plumas County, CA 98 km (61 mi) W earthquakes near Plumas County
Carson City, NV 104 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near Carson City
Lassen County, CA 106 km (66 mi) NW earthquakes near Lassen County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.1 5 km NW of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  2. 1.8 22 km SSW of Empire, Nevada
  3. 1.8 23 km NNW of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  4. 1.7 17 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  5. 2.2 15 km SE of Honey Lake, CA
  6. 2.2 24 km ENE of Honey Lake, CA
  7. 2.1 19 km N of Chilcoot-Vinton, CA
  8. 1.6 12 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  9. 1.7 13 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  10. 1.6 13 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  11. 1.6 11 km SSW of Nixon, Nevada
  12. 1.5 10 km WNW of Nixon, Nevada
  13. 2.1 23 km E of Herlong, California
  14. 1.5 23 km ENE of Herlong, California
  15. 1.9 20 km E of Herlong, 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.