QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Ely, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Ely in the 24 hours to 9:07 pm PST (05:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 49 km (30 mi) SW, at 5:55 am PST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Ely

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) west of Ely, NV, at 4:30 pm PDT on 3 August 2016 (23:30 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 19 km W of Ruth, Nevada

4:30 pm PDT, Aug 3, 2016 · · 10 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ely Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N White Pine County 30 kmEureka County 119 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:30 pm PDT on 3 August 2016 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) west of Ely, NV · earthquakes near Ely
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
White Pine County, 30 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3055 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Ely, 28 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 39.2894, -115.2106. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
White Pine County, NV 30 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near White Pine County
Eureka County, NV 119 km (74 mi) NW earthquakes near Eureka County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 3 km ENE of Ruth, Nevada
  2. 2.7 15 km E of Ely, Nevada
  3. 2.2 4 km SSE of Ruth, Nevada
  4. 2.6 3 km ESE of Ely, Nevada
  5. 1.8 5 km WSW of Ruth, Nevada
  6. 1.8 2 km SSW of Ruth, Nevada
  7. 1.8 4 km W of Ruth, Nevada
  8. 1.8 7 km WSW of Ruth, Nevada
  9. 2.4 9 km NNE of Ely, Nevada
  10. 2.1 3 km NNW of Ely, Nevada
  11. 1.8 5 km W of Ruth, Nevada
  12. 1.7 7 km W of Ruth, Nevada
  13. 1.5 7 km W of Ruth, Nevada
  14. 2.0 2 km WSW of Ruth, Nevada
  15. 2.3 11 km W of Ruth, Nevada

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.