explosion · automatic estimate, may change
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 3:28 am PST (11:28 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
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Spanish Springs, NV, at 4:46 pm PDT on 21 April 2025 (23:46 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 20 km SE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
29 km (18 mi) E of Reno, NV · 17 km (11 mi) E of Sparks, NV
- When
- 4:46 pm PDT on 21 April 2025 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Storey County, 12 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Olinghouse fault, 8 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 570 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Spanish Springs, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Spanish Springs, 20 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sparks, Stagecoach, Sun Valley, Fernley, Reno, Golden Valley.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 15 km E of this epicentre
- 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 48 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 25 km NE 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 39.5451, -119.5168. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 12 km (7 mi) | S | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 48 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 (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Sierra County, CA | 86 km (54 mi) | W | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Alpine County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Alpine County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 20 km ESE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
- 1.6 6 km N of Incline Village, Nevada
- 2.0 6 km N of Incline Village, Nevada
- 2.6 3 km NW of Cold Springs, NV
- 1.7 7 km NNE of Kings Beach, CA
- 1.5 5 km N of Spanish Springs, Nevada
- 1.9 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.8 14 km E of Fernley, Nevada
- 1.8 9 km ENE of Sparks, Nevada
- 1.6 11 km E of Sparks, Nevada
- 2.2 9 km ENE of Sparks, Nevada
- 1.5 8 km SE of Silver Springs, Nevada
- 1.8 10 km ESE of Silver Springs, Nevada
- 2.1 6 km SSE of Floriston, California
- 2.3 2 km NNE of Fernley, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.