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M 3.5 Earthquake 21 km W of Preston, Nevada

Source: USGS · Nevada

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 21 km W of Preston. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M3.5 is classified "Minor". Among the 1,834 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M3.5 event ranks stronger than 32% of them (rank #1,177 by magnitude).

Read this earthquake report in 30 seconds

Magnitude
M 3.5
USGS class
Minor
Location
21 km W of Preston
Archive rank
#1,177 of 1,834
Source
USGS
Published
September 27, 2026
MINOR

Stronger than 32% of the 1,834 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive, weaker than 1,176 others.

Record status: a point-in-time USGS detection. Aftershocks, revised magnitude, and felt-report data continue to update on USGS's own event page after publication.

What Happened

A M 3.45 ml earthquake struck 21 km W of Preston, Nevada. The event occurred at 2026-09-25 12:38:53 UTC with a depth of 3.8801 km.

Location Details

The earthquake was located at latitude 38.9253, longitude -115.3111, 21 km west of Preston, Nevada. The depth of 3.9 km is classified as shallow (less than 20 km).

Impact Assessment

No felt reports were recorded. No tsunami advisory was issued (tsunami field: 0). No alert level was assigned.

What You Should Know

This was a minor earthquake (M 2.5-3.9 range). Events of this size are often felt locally but rarely cause damage.

Source

https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nn00924939 (USGS)

Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗

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Comparable nationwide notices (length or severity timing) 8

Two cross-category peer sets, both computed from Areazine's own archive: notices with a similar body length, and notices near the same severity and agency date. These are drawn from other categories, not the same-feed Related list above.

Similar body length

Nearest notices by article body length (684 characters here).

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Similar severity timing

Same severity (low) notices issued closest in time to September 27, 2026.

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Questions & Answers

Questions readers often have about this USGS earthquake report.

How strong was this earthquake? ▾
A magnitude 3.45 ml earthquake occurred 21 km west of Preston, Nevada at a depth of 3.9 km.
How should a magnitude 3.5 ("Minor") event be understood? ▾
The USGS classifies M3.5 as "Minor" on its Earthquake Hazards Program scale. Events in this range are rarely felt beyond the immediate epicenter and typically cause no damage; most are recorded only by seismographs.
How does this compare with other earthquakes Areazine has reported? ▾
This is the #1,177 strongest of the 1,834 earthquake reports in Areazine's archive by magnitude, stronger than 32% of them and weaker than 1,176 others.
Was Preston likely to feel this earthquake? ▾
This event was centered 21 km W of Preston. Shaking intensity falls off sharply with distance from the epicenter and depends on depth and local geology, so check the USGS "Did You Feel It?" report for this event for real felt-shaking data rather than assuming from magnitude and distance alone.

Where this data comes from

EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data

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AirNow (EPA / NOAA)

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National Weather Service

Active watches, warnings, and advisories, NOAA

CDC Air Quality & Health

Health-impact reference behind every AQI category