QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Amarillo, TX

USGS: 3 km NW of Amarillo, Texas

5 km (3 mi) NNW of Amarillo, TX

7:56 am CDT, Jul 17, 2021 · · 13 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Amarillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Potter County 18 kmRandall County 31 kmCarson County 49 kmArmstrong County 55 kmMoore County 66 kmOldham County 70 kmDeaf Smith County 76 kmHutchinson County 80 kmSwisher County 80 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
7:56 am CDT on 17 July 2021 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) NW of Amarillo, TX · earthquakes near Amarillo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Potter County, 18 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1899 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) NW of Amarillo, TX, at 7:56 am CDT on 17 July 2021 (12:56 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bushland, Canyon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 35.2414, -101.8551. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Potter County, TX 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Potter County
Randall County, TX 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Randall County
Carson County, TX 49 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Carson County
Armstrong County, TX 55 km (34 mi) SE earthquakes near Armstrong County
Moore County, TX 66 km (41 mi) N earthquakes near Moore County
Oldham County, TX 70 km (43 mi) WNW earthquakes near Oldham County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  2. 1.8 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  3. 2.0 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  4. 2.1 7 km NNE of Amarillo, Texas
  5. 1.9 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  6. 1.7 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  7. 2.0 18 km E of Boys Ranch, Texas
  8. 2.5 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  9. 2.0 11 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  10. 1.9 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  11. 2.2 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  12. 2.7 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  13. 2.3 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  14. 2.8 15 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  15. 2.6 13 km NNE of Amarillo, 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.