QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Amarillo, TX

USGS: 15 km NE of Amarillo, Texas

18 km (11 mi) NE of Amarillo, TX

7:53 am CDT, Aug 4, 2023 · · 5.8 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Amarillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Potter County 20 kmCarson County 33 kmRandall County 43 kmArmstrong County 49 kmMoore County 61 kmHutchinson County 66 kmGray County 81 kmOldham County 82 kmSwisher County 87 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
7:53 am CDT on 4 August 2023 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) NE of Amarillo, TX · earthquakes near Amarillo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
5.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Potter County, 20 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1156 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) NE of Amarillo, TX, at 7:53 am CDT on 4 August 2023 (12:53 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Panhandle.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 35.3110, -101.6973. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Potter County, TX 20 km (13 mi) WNW earthquakes near Potter County
Carson County, TX 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Carson County
Randall County, TX 43 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Randall County
Armstrong County, TX 49 km (31 mi) SE earthquakes near Armstrong County
Moore County, TX 61 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Moore County
Hutchinson County, TX 66 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hutchinson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 13 km S of Claude, Texas
  2. 1.8 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  3. 1.8 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  4. 2.2 11 km WNW of Fritch, Texas
  5. 2.0 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  6. 2.1 7 km NNE of Amarillo, Texas
  7. 1.9 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  8. 1.7 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  9. 2.0 18 km E of Boys Ranch, Texas
  10. 2.5 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  11. 2.0 11 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  12. 1.9 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  13. 2.2 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  14. 2.7 8 km NE of Amarillo, Texas
  15. 2.3 8 km NE of Amarillo, 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.