QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml(texnet)

western Texas

Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded in western Texas, at 2:13 am CDT on 3 October 2023 (07:13 UTC), 3.4 km deep.

· 3.4 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reeves County 46 kmWard County 46 kmPecos County 66 kmWinkler County 82 kmCrane County 82 kmLoving County 85 kmJeff Davis County 103 kmEctor County 108 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
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml(texnet))
Depth
3.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Reeves County, 46 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1063 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Pecos 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 31.1220, -103.2770. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reeves County, TX 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Reeves County
Ward County, TX 46 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Ward County
Pecos County, TX 66 km (41 mi) SE earthquakes near Pecos County
Winkler County, TX 82 km (51 mi) NNE earthquakes near Winkler County
Crane County, TX 82 km (51 mi) ENE earthquakes near Crane County
Loving County, TX 85 km (53 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loving County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 12 km N of Coyanosa, Texas
  2. 2.3 11 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  3. 1.9 10 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  4. 1.5 11 km NNW of Coyanosa, Texas
  5. 1.9 13 km SE of Lindsay, Texas
  6. 1.6 22 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas
  7. 1.5 10 km NE of Toyah, Texas
  8. 1.7 26 km WSW of Coyanosa, Texas
  9. 1.9 26 km SSE of Lindsay, Texas
  10. 2.0 18 km S of Lindsay, Texas
  11. 1.6 14 km ESE of Lindsay, Texas
  12. 1.7 14 km ESE of Lindsay, Texas
  13. 1.6 21 km SSE of Lindsay, Texas
  14. 2.1 3 km S of Pecos, Texas
  15. 1.7 11 km NNW of Coyanosa, 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.