Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Gonzales, TX
No earthquake was likely felt in Gonzales in the 24 hours to 2:14 pm CST (20:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 42 km (26 mi) E, at 2:54 pm CDT on 25 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Gonzales
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) south of Gonzales, TX, at 6:51 am CST on 28 December 2023 (12:51 UTC), 5.2 km deep.
USGS: 16 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- When
- 6:51 am CST on 28 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) south of Gonzales, TX · earthquakes near Gonzales
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Gonzales County, 15 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 366 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Gonzales, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Gonzales, 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 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Gonzales, 20 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: Nixon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 5,600 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 29.3260, -97.4760. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzales County, TX | 15 km (9 mi) | N | earthquakes near Gonzales County |
| DeWitt County, TX | 29 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near DeWitt County |
| Lavaca County, TX | 54 km (33 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lavaca County |
| Guadalupe County, TX | 54 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Guadalupe County |
| Caldwell County, TX | 58 km (36 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Caldwell County |
| Karnes County, TX | 59 km (37 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Karnes County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
23 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 21 km SSW of Nixon, Texas
- 1.8 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.7 15 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.9 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 3.0 18 km S of Gonzales, Texas
- 2.0 17 km E of Smiley, Texas
- 2.1 14 km E of Smiley, Texas
- 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 2.2 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 2.3 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.7 16 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.5 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.7 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
- 1.8 16 km ENE of Smiley, 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.