explosion · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Las Vegas, NV
No earthquake was likely felt in Las Vegas in the 24 hours to 10:27 pm PST (06:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 26 km (16 mi) W, at 1:47 pm PDT on 4 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 3,797 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Las Vegas
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.2 explosion was recorded 46 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Las Vegas, NV, at 2:00 pm PDT on 12 August 2024 (21:00 UTC), 1.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18 km WSW of Blue Diamond, Nevada
39 km (24 mi) SW of Las Vegas, NV
- When
- 2:00 pm PDT on 12 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 46 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Las Vegas, NV · earthquakes near Las Vegas
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Clark County, 58 km ENE
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 822 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Las Vegas, NV
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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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Las Vegas, 46 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: Sandy Valley, Summerlin South.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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 4.5 on 2018-07-05 — about 2,800 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 36.0123, -115.6050. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County, NV | 58 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Clark County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 11 km NNW of Summerlin South, Nevada
- 1.6 3 km E of Spring Valley, Nevada
- 1.6 7 km SSW of Enterprise, Nevada
- 1.8 5 km E of Enterprise, Nevada
- 1.7 3 km ENE of Blue Diamond, Nevada
- 2.4 10 km SSE of Enterprise, Nevada
- 1.5 4 km N of Blue Diamond, Nevada
- 2.1 18 km E of Shoshone, CA
- 1.8 11 km WNW of Summerlin South, Nevada
- 1.6 8 km NW of Summerlin South, Nevada
- 3.8 11 km NW of Summerlin South, Nevada
- 2.0 9 km SE of Enterprise, Nevada
- 1.7 14 km S of Enterprise, Nevada
- 1.9 10 km NNE of Summerlin South, Nevada
- 1.7 3 km W of Las Vegas, 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.