QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Fort Davis, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Fort Davis in the 24 hours to 1:34 pm CST (19:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 127 km (79 mi) NNW, at 4:27 pm CDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fort Davis

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Fort Davis, TX, at 10:04 pm CDT on 17 March 2025 (03:04 UTC), 1.9 km deep.

USGS: 12 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas

10:04 pm CDT, Mar 17, 2025 · · 1.9 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reeves County 40 kmJeff Davis County 66 kmWard County 79 kmPecos County 89 kmLoving County 99 kmCulberson County 102 kmWinkler County 111 kmCrane County 119 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
10:04 pm CDT on 17 March 2025 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Fort Davis, TX · earthquakes near Fort Davis
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
1.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Reeves County, 40 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 603 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. In Fort Davis, 49 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 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 30.9600, -103.6200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reeves County, TX 40 km (25 mi) NNW earthquakes near Reeves County
Jeff Davis County, TX 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Jeff Davis County
Ward County, TX 79 km (49 mi) NE earthquakes near Ward County
Pecos County, TX 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pecos County
Loving County, TX 99 km (61 mi) N earthquakes near Loving County
Culberson County, TX 102 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Culberson 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. 2.6 7 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  2. 2.6 6 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  3. 1.7 5 km NE of Balmorhea, Texas
  4. 1.6 14 km ENE of Balmorhea, Texas
  5. 2.3 7 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  6. 1.5 7 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  7. 2.0 10 km ENE of Balmorhea, Texas
  8. 1.8 7 km NNE of Balmorhea, Texas
  9. 1.7 22 km SSW of Lindsay, Texas
  10. 1.6 14 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  11. 1.6 13 km S of Lindsay, Texas
  12. 1.6 8 km NE of Toyah, Texas
  13. 3.1 8 km NE of Balmorhea, Texas
  14. 1.8 12 km ESE of Balmorhea, Texas
  15. 1.7 7 km NE of Toyah, 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.