Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.1ml
Earthquake near Karnes City, TX
No earthquake was likely felt in Karnes City in the 24 hours to 11:41 pm CST (05:41 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 37 km (23 mi) W, at 1:55 am CDT on 20 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Karnes City
This page: a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north of Karnes City, TX, at 1:50 pm CDT on 14 September 2023 (18:50 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 71 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
79 km (49 mi) SE of San Antonio, TX
- When
- 1:50 pm CDT on 14 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) north of Karnes City, TX · earthquakes near Karnes City
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 4.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 71 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Karnes County, 16 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 497 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Karnes City, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Karnes City, TX. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 491 km (305 mi) from the epicentre. In Karnes City, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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.
Likely felt in: Karnes City 19 km, intensity IV · Stockdale 23 km, intensity IV · Nixon 26 km, intensity IV · Floresville 30 km, intensity IV · Yorktown 36 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 21 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.1 about 21 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 45× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 4.0 on 2018-05-01.
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 29.0490, -97.8640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karnes County, TX | 16 km (10 mi) | S | earthquakes near Karnes County |
| Wilson County, TX | 26 km (16 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Wilson County |
| DeWitt County, TX | 49 km (30 mi) | E | earthquakes near DeWitt County |
| Gonzales County, TX | 58 km (36 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Gonzales County |
| Guadalupe County, TX | 60 km (37 mi) | N | earthquakes near Guadalupe County |
| Goliad County, TX | 60 km (38 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Goliad County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 7 km SSW of Falls City, Texas
- 1.5 8 km SSW of Falls City, Texas
- 1.5 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 1.6 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 2.7 7 km SW of Falls City, Texas
- 1.6 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 1.9 8 km SSE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.7 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 1.5 8 km SSW of Falls City, Texas
- 2.3 7 km SSW of Falls City, Texas
- 1.8 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 1.9 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
- 3.9 3 km N of Nordheim, Texas
- 1.9 8 km SW of Falls City, Texas
- 1.8 8 km SSW 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.