The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 38 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Smith Valley, the biggest of them M3.0. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Smith Valley came at 1.9× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Smith Valley — records go back to 1980 — was the M6.1 of Sep 12, 1994, 12:23 UTC: 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada.
How we figure this: 59 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 31.4 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Smith Valley, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Smith Valley are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Smith Valley
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1.8 | 24 km ENE of Schurz, Nevada | Nov 03, 2026, 04:36 AM | 13 km | 74 km ENE |
| M1.8 | 16 km ESE of Silver Springs, Nevada | Nov 03, 2026, 01:57 AM | 11 km | 67 km NNE |
| M2.2 | 5 km N of Johnson Lane, Nevada | Nov 02, 2026, 09:41 AM | 9 km | 47 km NW |
| M2.1 | 9 km SE of Dollar Point, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 04:13 AM | 5 km | 70 km WNW |
| M2.1 | 29 km SE of Bodie, CA | Oct 31, 2026, 11:09 PM | 4 km | 97 km SSE |
| M2.7 | 32 km SE of Bodie, CA | Oct 30, 2026, 08:45 AM | 14 km | 99 km SSE |
| M1.5 | 26 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada | Oct 29, 2026, 06:10 AM | 14 km | 96 km NE |
| M1.8 | 25 km ESE of Fallon Station, Nevada | Oct 28, 2026, 09:28 PM | 13 km | 94 km NE |
| M1.8 | 11 km W of Wadsworth, Nevada | Oct 27, 2026, 09:43 AM | 10 km | 96 km N |
| M1.5 | 15 km NE of Yerington, Nevada | Oct 27, 2026, 04:52 AM | 11 km | 43 km NE |
Earthquakes per year near Smith Valley (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Smith Valley
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 998 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Smith Valley (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M6.1 | 4 km S of Carter Springs, Nevada | Sep 12, 1994, 12:23 UTC | 27 km |
| M6.0 | Antelope Valley, CA | Jul 08, 2021, 22:49 UTC | 34 km |
| M5.8 | 3 km NE of Mono City, California | Oct 24, 1990, 06:15 UTC | 83 km |
| M5.7 | 2024 Parker Butte, Nevada Earthquake | Dec 09, 2024, 23:08 UTC | 51 km |
| M5.7 | 20 km ESE of Silver Springs, Nevada | Apr 14, 2026, 01:29 UTC | 68 km |
| M5.6 | 28 km WSW of Hawthorne, Nevada | Dec 28, 2016, 08:22 UTC | 59 km |
| M5.6 | 29 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada | Dec 28, 2016, 08:18 UTC | 60 km |
| M5.5 | 28 km SW of Hawthorne, Nevada | Dec 28, 2016, 09:13 UTC | 60 km |
Nearby places
Smith, NV (2 km) · Topaz Ranch Estates, NV (15 km) · Yerington, NV (27 km) · Gardnerville Ranchos, NV (36 km) · Johnson Lane, NV (44 km) · Gardnerville, NV (39 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 17:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 17:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.