QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Spanish Springs, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Spanish Springs in the 24 hours to 2:10 am PST (10:10 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Spanish Springs, NV, at 1:37 am PST on 21 February 2026 (09:37 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ENE of Spanish Springs, Nevada

20 km (13 mi) NE of Reno, NV · 11 km (7 mi) NNE of Sparks, NV

1:37 am PST, Feb 21, 2026 · · 13 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Spanish Springs Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Storey County 27 kmCarson City 57 kmSierra County 74 kmLyon County 81 kmDouglas County 84 kmNevada County 104 kmPlumas County 106 kmPlacer County 113 kmAlpine County 116 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
1:37 am PST on 21 February 2026 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) east-northeast of Spanish Springs, NV · earthquakes near Spanish Springs
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Storey County, 27 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
Spanish Springs Valley fault, 6 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 260 days ago

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, 4 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: Sun Valley, Golden Valley, Sparks, Lemmon Valley, Reno, Cold Springs.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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:

  1. 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 31 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 21 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 38 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 5 km NE of Loyalton, California · 47 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 31 km E 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 39.6583, -119.6592. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Storey County, NV 27 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Storey County
Carson City, NV 57 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near Carson City
Sierra County, CA 74 km (46 mi) W earthquakes near Sierra County
Lyon County, NV 81 km (50 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lyon County
Douglas County, NV 84 km (52 mi) S earthquakes near Douglas County
Nevada County, CA 104 km (64 mi) WSW earthquakes near Nevada County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 10 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  2. 1.6 8 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  3. 1.9 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  4. 2.4 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  5. 2.1 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA
  6. 1.7 6 km N of Carson City, Nevada
  7. 1.8 6 km N of Carson City, Nevada
  8. 2.0 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
  9. 1.7 7 km N of Carson City, Nevada
  10. 2.2 10 km N of Stagecoach, Nevada
  11. 1.7 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  12. 1.8 9 km NNW of Stagecoach, Nevada
  13. 1.9 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  14. 1.6 12 km SSE of Mogul, Nevada
  15. 1.6 18 km NW of Stagecoach, 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.