QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0ml

25 km SSW of Mina, Nevada

Yes. A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 25 km SSW of Mina, Nevada, at 8:52 am PDT on 17 October 2026 (15:52 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 15 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mineral County 45 kmEsmeralda County 64 kmMono County 68 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 3.0 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Mineral County, 45 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Benton Spring fault, 18 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 9 hours 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 36 km (22 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 1,100 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 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 6.5 on 2020-05-15 — about 150,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.3 The 1934 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada Earthquake · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 24 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 Excelsior Mountains, Nevada (Foreshock) · 25 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.6 37 km N of Dyer, Nevada · 19 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 Near Tonopah Junction, Nevada · 24 km SE of this epicentre

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 38.1668, -118.1678. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mineral County, NV 45 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mineral County
Esmeralda County, NV 64 km (40 mi) SE earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Mono County, CA 68 km (42 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mono County
Lyon County, NV 131 km (81 mi) NW earthquakes near Lyon County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have 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 changedFromToWhen
reported intensitynot reported2
felt reportsnot reported1
measured intensitynot reported2.73
review statusautomaticreviewed
location23 km S of Mina, Nevada25 km SSW of Mina, Nevada
longitude-118.15-118.17
latitude38.1838.17
depth13.5215.16
magnitude3.13.04

On USGS

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