QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Gardendale, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardendale in the 24 hours to 8:50 pm CST (02:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 47 km (29 mi) ENE, at 2:16 am CST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Gardendale

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Gardendale, TX, at 11:00 am CDT on 30 October 2021 (16:00 UTC), 7.7 km deep.

USGS: 9 km ENE of Gardendale, Texas

16 km (10 mi) W of Midland, TX

11:00 am CDT, Oct 30, 2021 · · 7.7 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ector County 31 kmMidland County 36 kmMartin County 43 kmAndrews County 45 kmCrane County 71 kmGlasscock County 74 kmWinkler County 76 kmUpton County 80 kmDawson County 84 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
11:00 am CDT on 30 October 2021 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Gardendale, TX · earthquakes near Gardendale
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
7.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ector County, 31 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1763 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 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Gardendale, 9 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: Gardendale 9 km, intensity III · Midland 20 km, intensity III · Odessa 23 km, intensity II · Stanton 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 32.0398, -102.2833. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ector County, TX 31 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Ector County
Midland County, TX 36 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Midland County
Martin County, TX 43 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Martin County
Andrews County, TX 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Andrews County
Crane County, TX 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Crane County
Glasscock County, TX 74 km (46 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glasscock County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  2. 1.7 11 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  3. 1.5 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  4. 2.3 34 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  5. 1.7 34 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  6. 1.5 9 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  7. 2.0 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  8. 1.6 9 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  9. 3.0 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  10. 1.5 11 km SE of Midland, Texas
  11. 2.5 9 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  12. 2.7 6 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  13. 2.5 10 km SSE of Gardendale, Texas
  14. 2.3 9 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  15. 3.1 9 km SSE of Gardendale, 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.