Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5mwr
Earthquake near Ely, NV
USGS: 25 km WNW of Preston, Nevada
- When
- 8:34 am PDT on 6 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) SW of Ely, NV · earthquakes near Ely
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (mwr)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- White Pine County, 60 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Preston fault, 22 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 3 hours ago
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) SW of Ely, NV, at 8:34 am PDT on 6 October 2026 (15:34 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 75,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.7× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2026-09-27 — about 110 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 38.9946, -115.3385. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Pine County, NV | 60 km (37 mi) | NE | earthquakes near White Pine County |
| Eureka County, NV | 136 km (84 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Eureka County |
| Nye County, NV | 150 km (93 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Nye County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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 changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| measured intensity | 3.53 | 3.48 | |
| depth | 6.3 | 5 | |
| magnitude | 3.6 | 3.45 | |
| measured intensity | not reported | 3.53 | |
| location | 31 km WNW of Preston, Nevada | 25 km WNW of Preston, Nevada | |
| longitude | -115.37 | -115.34 | |
| latitude | 39.06 | 38.99 | |
| depth | 0 | 6.3 | |
| magnitude | 3.62 | 3.6 | |
| review status | automatic | reviewed | |
| location | 25 km WNW of Preston, Nevada | 31 km WNW of Preston, Nevada | |
| longitude | -115.35 | -115.37 |
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.