QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Stanton, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Stanton in the 24 hours to 6:45 am CST (12:45 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 28 km (17 mi) S, at 4:17 am CST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stanton

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Stanton, TX, at 5:23 pm CDT on 7 April 2023 (22:23 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 14 km S of Stanton, Texas

29 km (18 mi) E of Midland, TX

5:23 pm CDT, Apr 7, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Midland County 28 kmGlasscock County 31 kmMartin County 37 kmHoward County 48 kmEctor County 71 kmSterling County 73 kmReagan County 75 kmUpton County 75 kmDawson 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
5:23 pm CDT on 7 April 2023 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south of Stanton, TX · earthquakes near Stanton
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Midland County, 28 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 357 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 Stanton, 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: Midland.

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 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 250,000 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 32.0020, -101.8080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Midland County, TX 28 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Midland County
Glasscock County, TX 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glasscock County
Martin County, TX 37 km (23 mi) NNW earthquakes near Martin County
Howard County, TX 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Howard County
Ector County, TX 71 km (44 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ector County
Sterling County, TX 73 km (46 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sterling County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 20 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  2. 1.7 17 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas
  3. 1.8 19 km S of Ackerly, Texas
  4. 1.7 19 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  5. 1.7 29 km ESE of Midland, Texas
  6. 1.7 37 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  7. 1.9 37 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  8. 2.0 29 km W of Garden City, Texas
  9. 1.6 8 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  10. 2.5 19 km N of Stanton, Texas
  11. 2.4 17 km N of Stanton, Texas
  12. 1.9 13 km NNE of Midland, Texas
  13. 1.7 8 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  14. 1.6 8 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  15. 1.6 6 km SE 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.