QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

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). Every earthquake near Karnes City

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX, at 10:04 am CST on 25 January 2023 (16:04 UTC), 8.7 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSW of Falls City, Texas

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

10:04 am CST, Jan 25, 2023 · · 8.7 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 18 kmWilson County 28 kmAtascosa County 49 kmBee County 64 kmLive Oak County 65 kmGoliad County 66 kmDeWitt County 67 kmGuadalupe County 73 kmBexar County 75 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
10:04 am CST on 25 January 2023 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX · earthquakes near Karnes City
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
8.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Karnes County, 18 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 413 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Karnes City, 14 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4,000 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 28.9300, -98.0320. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 28 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near Wilson County
Atascosa County, TX 49 km (31 mi) W earthquakes near Atascosa County
Bee County, TX 64 km (40 mi) SSE earthquakes near Bee County
Live Oak County, TX 65 km (40 mi) S earthquakes near Live Oak 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

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

  1. 1.5 8 km S of Falls City, Texas
  2. 1.6 7 km WNW of Karnes City, Texas
  3. 2.4 20 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  4. 2.6 23 km SE of Christine, Texas
  5. 1.9 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  6. 1.9 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  7. 2.8 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  8. 2.0 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  9. 1.7 9 km ENE of Christine, Texas
  10. 2.0 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  11. 1.5 23 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  12. 1.5 22 km NNW of Three Rivers, Texas
  13. 1.7 20 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  14. 1.8 18 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  15. 1.7 19 km ENE of Falls City, 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.