QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Fernley, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Fernley in the 24 hours to 3:01 pm PST (23:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 14 km (9 mi) E, at 7:39 pm PDT on 18 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fernley

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Fernley, NV, at 9:22 pm PDT on 14 May 2025 (04:22 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 9 km SE of Nixon, Nevada

53 km (33 mi) ENE of Reno, NV · 42 km (26 mi) ENE of Sparks, NV

9:22 pm PDT, May 14, 2025 · · 11 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fernley Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 41 kmCarson City 78 kmLyon County 82 kmChurchill County 91 kmDouglas County 99 kmPershing County 107 kmSierra County 107 kmWashoe 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
9:22 pm PDT on 14 May 2025 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Fernley, NV · earthquakes near Fernley
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 41 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Pyramid Lake 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 538 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Fernley, 17 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 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 27 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 7 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada · 37 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 39.7599, -119.2919. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 41 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 78 km (48 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 82 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Lyon County
Churchill County, NV 91 km (57 mi) ESE earthquakes near Churchill County
Douglas County, NV 99 km (61 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Pershing County, NV 107 km (66 mi) NE earthquakes near Pershing County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 39 km SW of Lovelock, Nevada
  2. 2.0 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  3. 1.6 39 km SW of Lovelock, Nevada
  4. 2.2 10 km N of Stagecoach, Nevada
  5. 1.7 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  6. 1.8 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  7. 1.6 18 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  8. 1.5 4 km ENE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  9. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  10. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  11. 1.5 16 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  12. 1.5 13 km NNW of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  13. 1.9 35 km ENE of Nixon, Nevada
  14. 1.7 8 km N of Sutcliffe, Nevada
  15. 1.5 5 km ESE of Sparks, 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.