QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Pecos, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Pecos in the 24 hours to 3:29 pm CST (21:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 4 km (3 mi) S, at 9:06 pm CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pecos

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) west-southwest of Pecos, TX, at 12:28 am CST on 28 December 2023 (06:28 UTC), 5.9 km deep.

USGS: 11 km NE of Toyah, Texas

12:28 am CST, Dec 28, 2023 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reeves County 8 kmLoving County 53 kmWard County 59 kmCulberson County 78 kmWinkler County 80 kmJeff Davis County 96 kmCrane County 116 kmPecos County 116 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
12:28 am CST on 28 December 2023 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) west-southwest of Pecos, TX · earthquakes near Pecos
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Reeves County, 8 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1049 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Pecos, 21 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 180,000 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 31.3830, -103.7090. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reeves County, TX 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Reeves County
Loving County, TX 53 km (33 mi) NNE earthquakes near Loving County
Ward County, TX 59 km (37 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ward County
Culberson County, TX 78 km (48 mi) W earthquakes near Culberson County
Winkler County, TX 80 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Winkler County
Jeff Davis County, TX 96 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jeff Davis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  2. 1.9 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  3. 1.8 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  4. 1.7 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  5. 1.9 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  6. 2.4 42 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  7. 1.7 37 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
  8. 1.8 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  9. 1.7 36 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  10. 1.8 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  11. 1.5 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  12. 1.7 35 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  13. 1.6 36 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 1.7 36 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  15. 2.5 37 km WSW of Mentone, 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.