QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Gardendale, TX

USGS: 6 km SE of Gardendale, Texas

11 km (7 mi) N of Odessa, TX

5:01 am CDT, Apr 23, 2021 · · 8.7 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Gardendale Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ector County 23 kmMidland County 37 kmAndrews County 47 kmMartin County 51 kmCrane County 63 kmWinkler County 69 kmUpton County 75 kmGlasscock County 78 kmWard County 89 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
5:01 am CDT on 23 April 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) SE of Gardendale, TX · earthquakes near Gardendale
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ector County, 23 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1988 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) SE of Gardendale, TX, at 5:01 am CDT on 23 April 2021 (10:01 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Odessa, West Odessa, Midland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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 31.9766, -102.3401. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ector County, TX 23 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ector County
Midland County, TX 37 km (23 mi) ESE earthquakes near Midland County
Andrews County, TX 47 km (29 mi) NW earthquakes near Andrews County
Martin County, TX 51 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Martin County
Crane County, TX 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Crane County
Winkler County, TX 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Winkler County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 14 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  2. 1.5 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  3. 2.0 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  4. 1.7 11 km N of Midland, Texas
  5. 2.2 12 km N of Midland, Texas
  6. 1.7 7 km SE of Midland, Texas
  7. 2.2 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  8. 2.4 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  9. 1.9 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  10. 1.8 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  11. 2.1 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  12. 2.2 5 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  13. 1.7 16 km NW of Midland, Texas
  14. 2.7 12 km N of Midland, Texas
  15. 2.3 12 km N of Midland, 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.