M2.6 earthquake 33 km W of Empire, Nevada

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 33 km W of Empire, Nevada on Tue, Oct 2, 2018, 12:13 PM PDT (19:13 UTC), 4 km (2 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.8 33 km WSW of Gerlach, 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
2.6	ML, local (Richter)	Nevada Seismological Laboratory	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.29 · 11 stations
2.6	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed · ±0.29 · 11 stations

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

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

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 31 in the 60 days after this one and 5 in the 30 days before it.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nn00659308 (also filed as us1000h5u7). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 10:47 AM UTC.