QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

24 km W of Preston, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 24 km W of Preston, Nevada, at 11:49 am PDT on 4 October 2026 (18:49 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

· 1.0 km deep · released about 67 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N White Pine County 65 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
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
1.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
White Pine County, 65 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Preston fault, 20 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 39 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. 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 67 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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 4.8 on 2026-09-27 — about 7,200 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 38.9395, -115.3428. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
White Pine County, NV 65 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near White Pine County
Eureka County, NV 140 km (87 mi) NW earthquakes near Eureka County
Nye County, NV 145 km (90 mi) SW earthquakes near Nye County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 21 km W of Preston, Nevada
  2. 2.2 18 km W of Preston, Nevada
  3. 3.5 21 km W of Preston, Nevada
  4. 2.8 39 km WNW of Preston, Nevada
  5. 2.4 23 km WNW of Preston, Nevada
  6. 3.4 19 km W of Preston, Nevada
  7. 2.4 19 km W of Preston, Nevada
  8. 2.5 20 km WNW of Preston, Nevada
  9. 2.7 18 km W of Preston, Nevada
  10. 1.8 21 km W of Preston, Nevada
  11. 3.3 19 km W of Preston, Nevada
  12. 2.8 18 km W of Preston, Nevada
  13. 3.5 25 km WNW of Preston, 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.

Revisions

USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.

What changedFromToWhen
review statusautomaticreviewed
location67 km NNW of Rachel, Nevada24 km W of Preston, Nevada
longitude-115.93-115.34
latitude38.2438.94
depth7.710.95
magnitude1.832.23

On USGS

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