M3.3 earthquake 9 km ESE of Carson City, Nevada

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 9 km ESE of Carson City, Nevada on Wed, Aug 18, 2021, 10:23 PM PDT (05:23 UTC), 11 km (7 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.4 25km SSW of Smith Valley, NV. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.3	ML, local (Richter)	Nevada Seismological Laboratory	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.17 · 8 stations
3.1	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.053 · 47 stations

374 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was III, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: at least 201 in the 60 days after this one and at least 200 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of at least 201.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nn00819000 (also filed as us6000f883). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 11:20 PM UTC.