Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.0ml
Earthquake near Sparks, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Sparks in the 24 hours to 6:59 pm PST (02:59 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east of Sparks, NV, at 1:24 pm PDT on 31 March 2026 (20:24 UTC), 1.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 9 km E of Sparks, Nevada
7 km (4 mi) ESE of Sparks, NV
- When
- 1:24 pm PDT on 31 March 2026 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) east of Sparks, NV · earthquakes near Sparks
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Storey County, 16 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Northern Virginia Range fault, 4 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 226 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sparks, NV
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Alerts are on for .
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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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Sparks, 9 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 9 km, intensity II · Spanish Springs 13 km, intensity II · Reno 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 5,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 Near Fernley, Nevada · 26 km E of this epicentre
- 6.1 22 km SSE of Stagecoach, Nevada · 50 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.0 Near Reno, Nevada · 14 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 6 km WNW of Verdi, California · 37 km W of this epicentre
- 5.5 7 km N of Wadsworth, Nevada · 34 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 39.5448, -119.6479. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storey County, NV | 16 km (10 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Storey County |
| Carson City, NV | 44 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Carson City |
| Lyon County, NV | 70 km (43 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lyon County |
| Douglas County, NV | 71 km (44 mi) | S | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Sierra County, CA | 75 km (47 mi) | W | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Nevada County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Nevada County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
6 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.4 10 km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 2.1 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA
- 1.7 6 km N of Carson City, Nevada
- 1.5 8 km SSW of Dayton, Nevada
- 1.8 6 km N of Carson City, 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.