QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6ml

37 km WSW of Mentone, Texas

Yes. A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km WSW of Mentone, Texas, at 7:04 pm CST on 16 November 2022 (01:04 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 7.9 km deep · released about 3.8 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reeves County 43 kmLoving County 47 kmCulberson County 55 kmWard County 84 kmWinkler County 91 kmEddy County 99 kmJeff Davis County 112 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
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.6 (ml)
Depth
7.9 km below the surface
Felt
11 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Reeves County, 43 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1383 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 338 km (210 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× 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 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 500 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 31.6151, -103.9832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reeves County, TX 43 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Reeves County
Loving County, TX 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Loving County
Culberson County, TX 55 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Culberson County
Ward County, TX 84 km (52 mi) E earthquakes near Ward County
Winkler County, TX 91 km (57 mi) ENE earthquakes near Winkler County
Eddy County, NM 99 km (61 mi) NNW earthquakes near Eddy County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 37 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  2. 2.4 western Texas
  3. 1.5 31 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  4. 2.6 38 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  5. 2.1 24 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  6. 1.9 western Texas
  7. 2.0 western Texas
  8. 1.8 36 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  9. 1.8 38 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
  10. 2.0 37 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  11. 1.8 38 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  12. 2.2 36 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  13. 2.5 37 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 1.7 western Texas
  15. 2.2 37 km WSW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.