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Moderate mag. 4.6 earthquake - 39 mi southeast of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California, USA, on 8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7)

Moderate mag. 4.6 earthquake - 39 mi southeast of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California, USA, on 8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7) Moderate mag. 4.6 earthquake - 39 mi southeast of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California, USA, on 8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7)

Moderate magnitude 4.6 earthquake at 2 km depth

8 Jul 23:26 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 30 seconds.
9 Jul 01:05: Now using data updates from USGS
9 Jul 06:03: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 9.3 to 1.2 km (from 5.8 to 0.7 mi).
9 Jul 06:22: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 1.2 to 1.6 km (from 0.7 to 1 mi).
Update Thu, 8 Jul 2021, 23:39

Moderate earthquake of magnitude 4.9 just reported 39 miles southeast of South Lake Tahoe, California, United States

4.9 quake 8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7)
4.9 quake 8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7)
A very shallow magnitude 4.9 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California, USA.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit on Thursday 8 July 2021 at 4:33 pm local time at a very shallow depth of 5.8 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.9 earthquake as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Walker (pop. 720) located 4 miles from the epicenter, and Topaz Ranch Estates (pop. 1,500) 17 miles away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Smith Valley (pop. 1,600) located 23 miles from the epicenter, Gardnerville Ranchos (pop. 11,300) 30 miles away, Gardnerville (pop. 5,700) 33 miles away, Gardnerville (pop. 5,700) 33 miles away, South Lake Tahoe (pop. 21,700) 39 miles away, and Johnson Lane (pop. 6,500) 40 miles away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

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Earthquake details

Date & timeJul 8, 2021 23:33:40 UTC
Local time at epicenter8 Jul 4:33 pm (GMT -7)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude4.6
Depth1.6 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude38.47967°N / 119.54483°W (Mono, California, United States)
Antipode38.48°S / 60.455°E
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt53 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearest volcanoSoda Lakes (76 km / 47 mi)
Nearby towns and cities7 km (4 mi) SW of Walker (pop: 721) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
29 km (18 mi) S of Topaz Ranch Estates (Nevada) (pop: 1,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
38 km (24 mi) SSW of Smith Valley (Nevada) (pop: 1,600) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
49 km (30 mi) SSE of Gardnerville Ranchos (Nevada) (pop: 11,300) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
63 km (39 mi) SE of South Lake Tahoe (El Dorado County) (pop: 21,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
65 km (40 mi) SSE of Johnson Lane (Douglas County, Nevada) (pop: 6,490) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
75 km (46 mi) ENE of Arnold (pop: 3,840) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
78 km (49 mi) SSE of Carson City (Nevada) (pop: 54,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
96 km (60 mi) ESE of Pollock Pines (El Dorado County) (pop: 6,870) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
170 km (106 mi) E of Sacramento (pop: 490,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeClear Sky 25.1°C (77 F), humidity: 15%, wind: 4 m/s (8 kts) from SW
Estimated seismic energy released5 x 1011 joules (139 megawatt hours, equivalent to 120 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
4.61.6 km29km ENE of Dardanelle, CAUSGS
4.65 kmCENTRAL CALIFORNIAEMSC
4.610 kmCalifornia-Nevada Border RegionGFZ

Seismograms

Seismic station: Mammoth (MLAC/CI network) | Distance from quake: 113 km / 70 mi | Show on map | Station Info
Seismic station Mammoth: vertical movement plot around time of quake (source: IRIS/BUD)
Seismogram (vertical component) around time of quake. Thin dotted red line indicates time of quake. Seismic waves arrive some time later, depending on distance. Bandpass filter applied: 0.2-10.0 Hz. Source: IRIS Buffer of Uniform Data (BUD) webtool
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User reports for this quake (57)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Clovis, CA (185.4 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 10-15 s : Couch vibrating a lot, blinds swinging, doorways made cracked sounds. Baby woke up crying. | 3 users found this interesting.  
Clipper Mills California / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating : Was on the sofa remotes fell off and my dogs were scared an barking | 3 users found this interesting.  
Atwater California (154.3 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : It felt really weird, but for sure it was an earthquake. The nearby swing started shaking side to side...  
Orangevale, Sacramento, California (145.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s
LAS VEGAS (452.7 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Los Banos, Merced, California (194.1 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
near Denair, Stanislaus, California (140.8 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Light shaking (reported through our app)  
Oakdale, CA (137.2 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vibration and rolling / 30-60 s
Sacramento ca (162.3 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 1-2 s : I felt 2 earthquakes 1 after the other. (reported through our app)  
Arnold, Calaveras, California (75.6 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Strongest of the aftershocks (reported through our app)  
South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado, California (63.5 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : It keeps sahking for more than 2-3 min, I was ready to take the kids outside.  
Roseville, Placer, California (154.2 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Foresthill, CA (127 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s
Merced, ca (127.4 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s
Orangevale, Sacramento, California (145.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s
Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California (483.2 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
Riverbank, Stanislaus, California (148.5 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s : Bed started to shake side to side, people on couch felt shake was well.  
25 km of Merced, California (130.3 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Mirrors in room shook and bed shook up stairs  
Enterprise, Clark, Nevada (464 km SE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Sacramento (162.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
roseville (154.5 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)
Illinoistown, Placer, California (142.7 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 5-10 s
Sparks, NV (118.8 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes
Sparks, NV (118.8 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 minutes
Sonora,ca / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : Rolling, shaking,  
South lake tahoe / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Shaking west to east motion. Upset my dog felt like a long one  
Reno / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s
Ripon, California / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
Yuba city, ca / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s
Golden valley, nv / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : The house shook for about 30 seconds.  
Reno / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 15-20 s : Long lasting rolling/swaying motion.  
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