QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Nixon, TX, at 12:18 pm CDT on 21 July 2021 (17:18 UTC), 5.5 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 11 km S of Smiley, Texas

94 km (58 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

12:18 pm CDT, Jul 21, 2021 · · 5.5 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N DeWitt County 27 kmGonzales County 35 kmKarnes County 36 kmWilson County 45 kmGuadalupe County 56 kmGoliad County 59 kmLavaca County 72 kmCaldwell County 74 kmVictoria County 75 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
12:18 pm CDT on 21 July 2021 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) southeast of Nixon, TX · earthquakes near Nixon
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
5.5 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
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 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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Nixon, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 III · Yorktown 23 km, intensity III · Cuero 33 km, intensity III · Stockdale 34 km, intensity III · Gonzales 41 km, intensity II · Karnes City 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 45 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 29.1640, -97.6210. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
DeWitt County, TX 27 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Gonzales County, TX 35 km (22 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Karnes County, TX 36 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Wilson County
Guadalupe County, TX 56 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 11 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  2. 1.8 8 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  3. 1.6 8 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  4. 1.6 6 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  5. 1.8 7 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  6. 1.5 6 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  7. 1.5 9 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  8. 1.5 8 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  9. 1.5 9 km N of Nordheim, Texas
  10. 2.6 3 km W of Falls City, Texas
  11. 1.7 3 km WSW of Falls City, Texas
  12. 2.2 9 km SE of Smiley, Texas
  13. 2.1 2 km SE of Falls City, Texas
  14. 1.9 19 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  15. 1.8 6 km NNW of Nordheim, 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.