QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Sparks, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Sparks in the 24 hours to 2:06 am PST (10:06 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 11 km (7 mi) WSW, at 11:07 pm PDT on 10 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sparks

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Sparks, NV, at 10:06 am PDT on 14 August 2025 (17:06 UTC), 2.3 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km ENE of Sparks, Nevada

7 km (4 mi) ESE of Sparks, NV

10:06 am PDT, Aug 14, 2025 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sparks Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 16 kmCarson City 45 kmLyon County 70 kmDouglas County 72 kmSierra County 75 kmNevada County 101 kmAlpine County 104 kmPlacer County 108 kmPlumas County 112 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
10:06 am PDT on 14 August 2025 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Sparks, NV · earthquakes near Sparks
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Storey County, 16 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Northern Virginia Range fault, 5 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 374 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Sparks, 10 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.

Likely felt in: Sparks 10 km, intensity II · Spanish Springs 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2020-03-21 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 25 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 15 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 37 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 1 km NNE of Verdi, Nevada · 29 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 39.5526, -119.6443. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 45 km (28 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carson City
Lyon County, NV 70 km (44 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 72 km (45 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Sierra County, CA 75 km (47 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Nevada County, CA 101 km (63 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada 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. 2.1 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  2. 1.7 6 km N of Carson City, Nevada
  3. 1.5 8 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada
  4. 1.8 6 km N of Carson City, Nevada
  5. 2.0 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  6. 1.7 7 km N of Carson City, 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. 1.9 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  11. 1.6 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  12. 1.6 18 km NW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  13. 2.4 6 km SW of Cold Springs, NV
  14. 1.5 4 km ENE of Spanish Springs, Nevada
  15. 1.7 8 km SSW of Dayton, 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.