QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Karnes City, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Karnes City in the last 24 hours. M 3.1, 101 km (63 mi) W of Karnes City, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Karnes City was intensity II (weak). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. Every earthquake near Karnes City

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX, at 4:44 pm CST on 7 January 2023 (22:44 UTC), 7.9 km deep.

USGS: 3 km S of Falls City, Texas

75 km (47 mi) SE of San Antonio, TX

4:44 pm CST, Jan 7, 2023 · · 7.9 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 17 kmWilson County 26 kmAtascosa County 51 kmBee County 65 kmDeWitt County 65 kmGoliad County 66 kmLive Oak County 67 kmGuadalupe County 71 kmBexar County 74 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
4:44 pm CST on 7 January 2023 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX · earthquakes near Karnes City
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
7.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Karnes County, 17 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 490 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Karnes City, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Poth, Kenedy, Floresville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2018-05-01 — about 2,800 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 28.9490, -98.0170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 17 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 26 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Wilson County
Atascosa County, TX 51 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Atascosa County
Bee County, TX 65 km (40 mi) SSE earthquakes near Bee County
DeWitt County, TX 65 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Goliad County, TX 66 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  2. 1.7 20 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  3. 1.8 18 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  4. 1.7 19 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  5. 1.6 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  6. 1.6 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  7. 1.5 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  8. 2.0 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  9. 2.3 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  10. 1.6 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  11. 2.1 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  12. 2.4 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  13. 2.2 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  14. 2.4 20 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  15. 1.6 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, 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.