QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

Earthquake near Nellis Air Force Base, NV

No earthquake was likely felt in Nellis Air Force Base in the 24 hours to 2:32 am PST (10:32 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 34 km (21 mi) WSW, at 1:47 pm PDT on 4 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 3,797 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Nellis Air Force Base

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Nellis Air Force Base, NV, at 1:21 pm PDT on 24 September 2021 (20:21 UTC), 9.5 km deep. 20 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 25 km NE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

41 km (26 mi) ENE of Las Vegas, NV · 24 km (15 mi) NE of North Las Vegas, NV

1:21 pm PDT, Sep 24, 2021 · · 9.5 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Nellis Air Force Base Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 26 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
1:21 pm PDT on 24 September 2021 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) northeast of Nellis Air Force Base, NV · earthquakes near Nellis Air Force Base
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
9.5 km below the surface
Felt
20 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Clark County, 26 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
California Wash fault, 14 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 1805 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Nellis Air Force Base, 25 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sunrise Manor.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 36.4156, -114.8655. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, NV 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clark County
Mohave County, AZ 127 km (79 mi) SE earthquakes near Mohave County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 17 km N of Summerlin South, Nevada
  2. 1.8 18 km E of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  3. 1.7 26 km N of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  4. 1.8 8 km SSW of Whitney, Nevada
  5. 1.7 24 km E of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  6. 3.3 24 km ENE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  7. 2.2 20 km NE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  8. 1.6 22 km ENE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  9. 2.1 11 km NE of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
  10. 1.5 15 km N of Summerlin South, Nevada
  11. 1.7 39 km E of Indian Springs, Nevada
  12. 1.6 24 km NW of North Las Vegas, Nevada
  13. 1.6 3 km WSW of Boulder City, Nevada
  14. 1.6 16 km SE of Moapa Valley, Nevada
  15. 1.7 25 km NE of Boulder City, 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.