Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Wells, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Wells in the 24 hours to 11:31 pm PST (07:31 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 147 km (91 mi) W, at 11:59 am PDT on 30 August 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 55 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wells
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Wells, NV, at 12:41 pm PST on 16 December 2016 (20:41 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km NNE of Wells, Nevada
- When
- 12:41 pm PST on 16 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Wells, NV · earthquakes near Wells
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Elko County, 36 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Ruby Mountains fault, 21 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3056 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wells, NV
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Wells, NV. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Wells, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Wells 10 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× more
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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.9 8 km ENE of Wells, Nevada · 7 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.1 10 km ENE of Wells, Nevada · 10 km SE of this epicentre
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 41.1964, -114.9249. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elko County, NV | 36 km (23 mi) | W | earthquakes near Elko County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
17 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 10 km ENE of Wells, Nevada
- 2.0 23 km S of Wells, Nevada
- 3.0 14 km SE of Wells, Nevada
- 3.7 16 km S of Wells, Nevada
- 3.6 31 km NE of Osino, Nevada
- 2.0 20 km S of Wells, Nevada
- 1.5 21 km SSW of Wells, Nevada
- 1.9 7 km WSW of Oasis, Nevada
- 1.5 21 km SSW of Wells, Nevada
- 3.0 31 km SSW of Wells, Nevada
- 2.3 22 km SSW of Wells, Nevada
- 1.5 21 km S of Wells, Nevada
- 2.3 23 km SSW of Wells, Nevada
- 4.7 25 km S of Wells, Nevada
- 1.6 33 km E of Lamoille, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.