QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

33 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 33 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas, at 12:43 pm CST on 3 January 2025 (18:43 UTC), 3.1 km deep.

· 3.1 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reeves County 57 kmPecos County 68 kmJeff Davis County 78 kmWard County 79 kmCrane County 109 kmLoving County 110 kmWinkler County 114 kmBrewster County 118 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 1.8 (ml)
Depth
3.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Reeves County, 57 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 677 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 17 km (11 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 30.8610, -103.4240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reeves County, TX 57 km (35 mi) NNW earthquakes near Reeves County
Pecos County, TX 68 km (42 mi) E earthquakes near Pecos County
Jeff Davis County, TX 78 km (48 mi) WSW earthquakes near Jeff Davis County
Ward County, TX 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Ward County
Crane County, TX 109 km (68 mi) NE earthquakes near Crane County
Loving County, TX 110 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Loving County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 9 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  2. 1.8 9 km S of Lindsay, Texas
  3. 1.6 9 km NE of Balmorhea, Texas
  4. 2.0 30 km W of Fort Stockton, Texas
  5. 2.0 5 km NE of Balmorhea, Texas
  6. 2.2 24 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  7. 1.9 18 km N of Balmorhea, Texas
  8. 1.7 16 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  9. 1.5 28 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas
  10. 2.6 24 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  11. 1.6 18 km SE of Balmorhea, Texas
  12. 1.6 31 km SSE of Lindsay, Texas
  13. 2.2 30 km ENE of Balmorhea, Texas
  14. 1.8 12 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas
  15. 1.7 33 km W of Fort Stockton, 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.