LAS VEGAS - A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Nevada on Friday close to the small town of Caliente, northeast of the tourist hub of Las Vegas, and was followed by a series of smaller aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the epicenter of the initial quake, which was very shallow at a depth of only 2.5 miles(4 km), was 24 miles (39 km)from Caliente, a town of just over 1,000 people, close to the border with Utah. A dispatcher with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, near the epicenter, said the earthquake had been felt widely across the county, but that there were no immediate reports of damage.