QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Gonzales, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Gonzales in the last 24 hours. M 3.2, 160 km (100 mi) WSW of Gonzales, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Gonzales was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Gonzales

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) south of Gonzales, TX, at 10:08 am CST on 28 December 2023 (16:08 UTC), 8.4 km deep.

USGS: 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas

10:08 am CST, Dec 28, 2023 · · 8.4 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Gonzales County 16 kmDeWitt County 28 kmLavaca County 52 kmGuadalupe County 56 kmKarnes County 59 kmCaldwell County 60 kmWilson County 63 kmGoliad County 73 kmVictoria County 75 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
10:08 am CST on 28 December 2023 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) south of Gonzales, TX · earthquakes near Gonzales
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Gonzales County, 16 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 498 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 9 km (6 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: Cuero, Yoakum.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 4,000 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 29.3180, -97.4580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Gonzales County, TX 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Gonzales County
DeWitt County, TX 28 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Lavaca County, TX 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Lavaca County
Guadalupe County, TX 56 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Karnes County, TX 59 km (37 mi) SW earthquakes near Karnes County
Caldwell County, TX 60 km (37 mi) NNW earthquakes near Caldwell 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. 2.7 21 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  2. 1.7 21 km SSW of Nixon, Texas
  3. 1.9 21 km SSW of Nixon, Texas
  4. 1.8 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  5. 1.7 15 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  6. 1.9 17 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  7. 3.0 18 km S of Gonzales, Texas
  8. 2.0 17 km E of Smiley, Texas
  9. 2.1 14 km E of Smiley, Texas
  10. 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  11. 1.8 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  12. 2.2 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  13. 2.3 18 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  14. 1.7 16 km ENE of Smiley, Texas
  15. 1.5 17 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.