QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Ely, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Ely in the 24 hours to 12:10 am PST (08:10 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) northwest of Ely, NV, at 2:33 pm PST on 13 February 2019 (22:33 UTC), 5.8 km deep.

USGS: 39 km NW of Ruth, Nevada

2:33 pm PST, Feb 13, 2019 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N White Pine County 39 kmEureka County 95 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
2:33 pm PST on 13 February 2019 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) northwest of Ely, NV · earthquakes near Ely
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
White Pine County, 39 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Butte Valley fault, 16 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 2829 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Ely, 49 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 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-06-03 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

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 39.5108, -115.3404. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
White Pine County, NV 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near White Pine County
Eureka County, NV 95 km (59 mi) WNW earthquakes near Eureka County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 28 km NW of Preston, Nevada
  2. 2.2 35 km SE of Eureka, Nevada
  3. 1.9 4 km S of Ruth, Nevada
  4. 2.3 2 km WSW of Ruth, Nevada
  5. 2.1 29 km SE of Eureka, Nevada
  6. 1.5 8 km SW of Ruth, Nevada
  7. 1.6 58 km NE of Eureka, Nevada
  8. 2.8 15 km NW of McGill, Nevada
  9. 2.4 24 km WNW of Ruth, Nevada
  10. 2.5 3 km SW of Ely, Nevada
  11. 2.2 19 km NNW of Ruth, Nevada
  12. 1.7 11 km SSW of Ruth, Nevada
  13. 1.6 41 km SE of Eureka, Nevada
  14. 1.9 56 km NE of Eureka, Nevada
  15. 1.5 30 km NNE of Eureka, 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.