Earthquake near Alpine, TX

USGS: 22 km ENE of Alpine, Texas

5:06 pm CDT, Sep 1, 2021 · 2021-09-01 22:06 UTC · 14 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

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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: 5:06 pm CDT on 1 September 2021 (2021-09-01 22:06 UTC)
Where: 23 km (14 mi) ENE of Alpine, TX · earthquakes near Alpine
Magnitude: M 2.3 (ml)
Depth: 14 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Brewster County, 68 km SSE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 1856 days ago · we first saw it 1856 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) ENE of Alpine, TX, at 5:06 pm CDT on 1 September 2021 (22:06 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

5.7 13 km NW of Marathon, Texas · 15 km SSE of this epicentre Apr 14, 1995

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 30.4010, -103.4301. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Brewster County, TX	68 km (42 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Brewster County
Jeff Davis County, TX	77 km (48 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Jeff Davis County
Pecos County, TX	80 km (50 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Pecos County
Presidio County, TX	91 km (57 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Presidio County
Reeves County, TX	104 km (65 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Reeves County
Crane County, TX	145 km (90 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Crane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.9 37 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas 14:39 UTC
2.2 28 km SE of Balmorhea, Texas 04:37 UTC
1.8 45 km WSW of Fort Stockton, Texas 19:22 UTC
1.8 37 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas 07:59 UTC
2.8 18 km S of Marathon, Texas 10:47 UTC
1.8 24 km W of Marathon, Texas 14:17 UTC
2.9 19 km S of Marathon, Texas 18:30 UTC
1.9 33 km SE of Balmorhea, Texas 16:36 UTC
1.7 11 km NNE of Alpine, Texas 16:18 UTC
1.5 21 km SE of Alpine, Texas 03:37 UTC
1.8 33 km SE of Balmorhea, Texas 08:31 UTC
2.0 12 km NE of Alpine, Texas 19:16 UTC
2.0 11 km NNE of Alpine, Texas 18:10 UTC
2.0 11 km NNE of Alpine, Texas 20:41 UTC
2.4 32 km SE of Balmorhea, Texas 10:38 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 05:42 UTC. 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.