QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Nixon, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Nixon in the last 24 hours. M 3.1, 122 km (76 mi) WSW of Nixon, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Nixon was intensity II (weak). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. Every earthquake near Nixon

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Nixon, TX, at 2:19 pm CST on 18 November 2023 (20:19 UTC), 6.4 km deep.

USGS: 18 km SSW of Nixon, Texas

78 km (48 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

2:19 pm CST, Nov 18, 2023 · · 6.4 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 23 kmWilson County 26 kmDeWitt County 45 kmGonzales County 51 kmGuadalupe County 54 kmGoliad County 63 kmAtascosa County 73 kmBexar County 77 kmBee County 78 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
2:19 pm CST on 18 November 2023 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Nixon, TX · earthquakes near Nixon
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
6.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Karnes County, 23 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 378 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 Nixon, 18 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: Stockdale, Poth, Karnes City, Runge.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 4.1 on 2023-09-14 — about 7,900 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 29.1130, -97.8280. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 23 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 26 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Wilson County
DeWitt County, TX 45 km (28 mi) E earthquakes near DeWitt County
Gonzales County, TX 51 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Guadalupe County, TX 54 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 63 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 15 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  2. 1.9 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  3. 3.0 18 km S of Gonzales, Texas
  4. 2.0 17 km E of Smiley, Texas
  5. 2.1 14 km E of Smiley, Texas
  6. 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  7. 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  8. 2.2 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  9. 2.3 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  10. 1.7 16 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  11. 1.5 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  12. 1.7 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  13. 1.8 16 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  14. 1.8 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  15. 1.8 21 km S of Gonzales, 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.