Earthquake swarm reported near Nevada’s Topaz Lake

January 25, 2013 – TOPAZ LAKE, NV – Sixteen small quakes hit an area near Topaz Lake early Thursday, but there have been no reports of damage or injury. The quakes hit an area southwest of the lake between midnight and 5AM. They ranged from 1.1 to 3.7 in magnitude, and were between three and nine kilometers deep. Another handful of small quakes hit several hours later, in the afternoon and evening. The remote area is about 45 miles southeast of Gardnerville. Another small swarm hit an area about 20 miles west northwest of Donner Lake between 5:45AM and 6:15AM Thursday. They ranged between 0.5 and 2.1 in magnitude, with no reports of damage or injury. –KOLOTV

Oregon quake cluster: A small cluster of modest earthquakes has been recorded off the central Oregon coast with the largest a magnitude 3.4. A handful of people reported feeling the 3.4 quake that hit shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday. The quakes had an average depth of about 35 km (22 miles). Geophysicist Randy Baldwin of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., says small quakes in that area would not be expected to cause any damage on land. The quakes were centered about 30 miles west of Waldport. Others included a magnitude 3.0 and a 2.6. Baldwin says such quakes are fairly common. –Oregon Live