QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.7ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the 24 hours to 3:22 am CST (09:22 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 3.7 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Midland, TX, at 10:05 pm CDT on 6 September 2021 (03:05 UTC), 7.1 km deep. 593 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas

12 km (7 mi) NNW of Midland, TX

10:05 pm CDT, Sep 6, 2021 · · 7.1 km deep · released about 5.4 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Midland Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 29 kmMidland County 37 kmEctor County 45 kmAndrews County 49 kmGlasscock County 67 kmHoward County 72 kmDawson County 72 kmGaines County 82 kmCrane County 83 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
10:05 pm CDT on 6 September 2021 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.7 (ml)
Depth
7.1 km below the surface
Felt
593 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Martin County, 29 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1426 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 370 km (230 mi) from the epicentre. In Midland, 16 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Midland 16 km, intensity IV · Gardendale 23 km, intensity IV · Odessa 36 km, intensity III · Stanton 36 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.7 about 5.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 11× 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 2.8 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 32.1194, -102.1707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 29 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Martin County
Midland County, TX 37 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near Midland County
Ector County, TX 45 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near Ector County
Andrews County, TX 49 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Andrews County
Glasscock County, TX 67 km (42 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glasscock County
Howard County, TX 72 km (45 mi) ENE earthquakes near Howard County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 14 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  2. 1.9 14 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  3. 1.6 13 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  4. 3.7 14 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  5. 3.6 14 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  6. 3.1 14 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas
  7. 1.9 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  8. 2.2 23 km W of Garden City, Texas
  9. 2.4 23 km W of Garden City, Texas
  10. 2.3 10 km SSE of Gardendale, Texas
  11. 2.0 38 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  12. 2.0 20 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  13. 2.1 35 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  14. 2.4 16 km NW of Midland, Texas
  15. 2.2 10 km NNE of Odessa, 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.