Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Jal, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Jal in the 24 hours to 6:42 am MST (13:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 3:01 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jal
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northeast of Jal, NM, at 4:17 am MDT on 31 August 2021 (10:17 UTC), 7.1 km deep.
USGS: 13 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
96 km (60 mi) WNW of Midland, TX
- When
- 4:17 am MDT on 31 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) northeast of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Winkler County, 42 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1900 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Jal, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Jal, NM. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Jal, 13 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: Jal 13 km, intensity II · Eunice 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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.
Where
Epicentre 32.2101, -103.1129. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winkler County, TX | 42 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Andrews County, TX | 46 km (29 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Andrews County |
| Loving County, TX | 59 km (36 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Ector County, TX | 66 km (41 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ector County |
| Lea County, NM | 71 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Gaines County, TX | 75 km (46 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Gaines 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.
- 2.0 17 km NNW of Goldsmith, Texas
- 1.9 26 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.4 25 km SW of Eunice, New Mexico
- 2.7 16 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 3.6 13 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.8 17 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.0 39 km W of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.1 16 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.6 16 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.9 15 km NE of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.4 western Texas
- 2.1 28 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.1 western Texas
- 2.7 28 km NW of Wink, Texas
- 2.5 27 km NE of Mentone, 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.