QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Nixon, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Nixon in the last 24 hours. M 3.2, 122 km (76 mi) WSW of Nixon, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Nixon was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Nixon

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) east-southeast of Nixon, TX, at 8:39 am CDT on 30 April 2020 (13:39 UTC), 7.5 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SSE of Smiley, Texas

94 km (59 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

8:39 am CDT, Apr 30, 2020 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N DeWitt County 27 kmGonzales County 30 kmKarnes County 41 kmWilson County 48 kmGuadalupe County 54 kmGoliad County 63 kmLavaca County 68 kmCaldwell County 70 kmVictoria County 76 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:39 am CDT on 30 April 2020 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) east-southeast of Nixon, TX · earthquakes near Nixon
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
DeWitt County, 27 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 498 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Nixon, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Nixon 18 km, intensity II · Yorktown 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 4.0 on 2018-05-01 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 29.2050, -97.5960. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
DeWitt County, TX 27 km (16 mi) ESE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Gonzales County, TX 30 km (19 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Karnes County, TX 41 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 48 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Wilson County
Guadalupe County, TX 54 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 63 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 14 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  2. 1.6 19 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  3. 1.8 19 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  4. 2.7 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  5. 2.7 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  6. 1.8 8 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  7. 1.7 15 km SSW of Smiley, Texas
  8. 2.5 19 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  9. 1.9 3 km S of Falls City, Texas
  10. 2.4 2 km SE of Smiley, Texas
  11. 1.9 11 km ESE of Smiley, Texas
  12. 2.1 11 km ESE of Smiley, Texas
  13. 2.4 10 km ESE of Smiley, Texas
  14. 2.4 15 km SE of Smiley, Texas
  15. 1.6 12 km WNW of Yoakum, Texas

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.

On USGS

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