Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Midland, TX
USGS: 28 km ESE of Midland, Texas
33 km (21 mi) ESE of Midland, TX
- When
- 8:58 am CDT on 24 April 2021 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) ESE of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Midland County, 18 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1985 days ago
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) ESE of Midland, TX, at 8:58 am CDT on 24 April 2021 (13:58 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stanton.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2020-12-31 — about 2,800 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 31.8631, -101.8191. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midland County, TX | 18 km (11 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Midland County |
| Glasscock County, TX | 28 km (17 mi) | E | earthquakes near Glasscock County |
| Martin County, TX | 51 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Martin County |
| Upton County, TX | 60 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Upton County |
| Howard County, TX | 61 km (38 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Reagan County, TX | 61 km (38 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Reagan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 12 km N of Midland, Texas
- 2.7 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.6 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.6 18 km N of Stanton, Texas
- 1.9 17 km NW of Midland, Texas
- 1.5 7 km SE of Midland, Texas
- 1.6 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
- 1.9 11 km N of Midland, Texas
- 2.0 14 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.5 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.8 30 km W of Garden City, Texas
- 2.2 18 km N of Stanton, TX
- 2.0 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.7 11 km N of Midland, Texas
- 2.2 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.