QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Reno, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Reno in the 24 hours to 3:39 pm PST (23:39 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

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) northeast of Reno, NV, at 1:56 am PDT on 22 April 2025 (08:56 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km W of Nixon, Nevada

49 km (30 mi) NE of Reno, NV · 38 km (24 mi) NE of Sparks, NV

1:56 am PDT, Apr 22, 2025 · · 7.4 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Reno Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 44 kmCarson City 80 kmLyon County 91 kmSierra County 99 kmWashoe County 103 kmChurchill County 103 kmDouglas County 104 kmPershing County 109 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
1:56 am PDT on 22 April 2025 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) northeast of Reno, NV · earthquakes near Reno
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report
Nearest
Storey County, 44 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Pyramid Lake fault, 7 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 569 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Reno, 48 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: Fernley.

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 lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 35 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 17 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada · 40 km ENE 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 39.8273, -119.4129. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 44 km (28 mi) SSW earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 80 km (50 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 91 km (57 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lyon County
Sierra County, CA 99 km (61 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Washoe County, NV 103 km (64 mi) NNW earthquakes near Washoe County
Churchill County, NV 103 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Churchill County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 13 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  2. 1.6 11 km SSW of Nixon, Nevada
  3. 1.5 10 km WNW of Nixon, Nevada
  4. 1.7 10 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  5. 1.6 8 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  6. 2.0 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  7. 2.2 10 km N of Stagecoach, Nevada
  8. 1.7 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  9. 1.8 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  10. 1.6 18 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  11. 1.5 4 km ENE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  13. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  14. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  15. 1.5 13 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.