QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the 24 hours to 11:14 pm CST (05:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 35 km (22 mi) ESE, at 4:17 am CST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Midland

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) north of Midland, TX, at 1:07 am CDT on 17 June 2021 (06:07 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 34 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas

45 km (28 mi) N of Midland, TX

1:07 am CDT, Jun 17, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 16 kmDawson County 37 kmAndrews County 55 kmHoward County 60 kmGaines County 64 kmBorden County 68 kmMidland County 68 kmEctor County 77 kmGlasscock County 81 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
1:07 am CDT on 17 June 2021 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) north of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Martin County, 16 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1903 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 127 km (79 mi) from the epicentre. In Midland, 48 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: Lamesa 36 km, intensity III · Stanton 42 km, intensity III · Midland 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more

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 22 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 32.4271, -102.0657. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Martin County
Dawson County, TX 37 km (23 mi) NNE earthquakes near Dawson County
Andrews County, TX 55 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Andrews County
Howard County, TX 60 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Howard County
Gaines County, TX 64 km (40 mi) NW earthquakes near Gaines County
Borden County, TX 68 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Borden County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 29 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  2. 2.2 29 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  3. 2.6 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  4. 1.8 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  5. 2.3 12 km N of Midland, Texas
  6. 1.9 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  7. 3.7 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  8. 1.6 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  9. 2.1 16 km WNW of Big Spring, Texas
  10. 1.8 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  11. 2.4 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  12. 1.9 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  13. 2.9 31 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  14. 2.2 31 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  15. 2.2 14 km NNW 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.