M2.8 earthquake Nevada

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake struck in Nevada on Tue, May 21, 2002, 9:10 PM PDT (04:10 UTC), 13 km (8 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 80 km ENE of Tonopah, Nevada. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
2.8	ML, local (Richter)	Nevada Seismological Laboratory	Preferred · Reviewed
2.8	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 6 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nn00048727 (also filed as usp000b4s1). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 1:54 PM UTC.