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, 2 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Lake of the Pines, the biggest of them M2.1. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Lake of the Pines came at 1.9× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Lake of the Pines — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.2 of Aug 10, 2001, 20:19 UTC: 3 km N of Blairsden, California.
How we figure this: 5 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 04, 2025 – Nov 04, 2026), compared with an average of 2.6 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 Lake of the Pines, 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 Lake of the Pines are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Lake of the Pines
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2.1 | 9 km SE of Dollar Point, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 04:13 AM | 5 km | 90 km E |
| M1.4 | 3 km SW of Tahoe Vista, CA | Oct 12, 2026, 06:40 PM | 4 km | 87 km ENE |
| M1.8 | 3 km NE of Dollar Point, CA | Oct 12, 2026, 10:22 AM | 5 km | 86 km ENE |
| M1.2 | 4 km NNE of Dollar Point, CA | Oct 07, 2026, 10:13 AM | 5 km | 87 km ENE |
| M2.9 | 9 km WSW of South Lake Tahoe, CA | Oct 02, 2026, 11:58 PM | 11 km | 86 km E |
| M3.3 | 9 km WSW of South Lake Tahoe, CA | Oct 02, 2026, 03:00 AM | 11 km | 86 km E |
| M2.1 | 11 km N of Kings Beach, CA | Sep 13, 2026, 03:09 AM | -0 km | 95 km ENE |
| M2.2 | 9 km S of Johnsville, CA | Sep 11, 2026, 09:59 AM | 12 km | 80 km NNE |
| M2.0 | 5 km E of Williams, CA | Sep 03, 2026, 08:00 AM | 21 km | 90 km W |
| M2.0 | 6 km E of Challenge-Brownsville, CA | Aug 31, 2026, 11:19 PM | 12 km | 48 km NNW |
Earthquakes per year near Lake of the Pines (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 Lake of the Pines
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 74 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Lake of the Pines (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.2 | 3 km N of Blairsden, California | Aug 10, 2001, 20:19 UTC | 94 km |
| M5.1 | 8 km SSW of Kingvale, California | Nov 28, 1980, 18:21 UTC | 57 km |
| M4.8 | 4 km N of Tahoe Vista, California | Oct 30, 1998, 09:53 UTC | 91 km |
| M4.8 | 8 km NNW of Tahoe Vista, California | Jun 26, 2005, 18:45 UTC | 88 km |
| M4.7 | 3 km WSW of Sattley, California | Oct 27, 2011, 06:37 UTC | 81 km |
| M4.7 | 19km NW of Truckee, CA | May 07, 2021, 04:35 UTC | 79 km |
| M4.6 | 10 km SSE of Sierra City, California | Dec 28, 1985, 19:01 UTC | 65 km |
| M4.4 | 5 km NW of Kingvale, California | Dec 02, 2000, 15:34 UTC | 61 km |
Nearby places
Meadow Vista, CA (5 km) · Colfax, CA (11 km) · Alta Sierra, CA (11 km) · Roseville, CA (38 km) · Citrus Heights, CA (42 km) · Folsom, CA (42 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 04, 2026, 01:45 UTC · page built Nov 04, 2026, 01:45 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.