Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Big Spring, TX
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Spring in the 24 hours to 8:05 am CST (14:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 41 km (26 mi) ESE, at 5:05 pm CST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Spring
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) east of Big Spring, TX, at 10:31 pm CST on 7 January 2026 (04:31 UTC), 8.6 km deep.
USGS: 6 km SW of Sand Springs, Texas
72 km (45 mi) ENE of Midland, TX
- When
- 10:31 pm CST on 7 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) east of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Howard County, 9 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 309 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Big Spring, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Big Spring, 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Spring, 9 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.
Likely felt in: Big Spring 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- 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 4.6 on 2021-12-28 — about 22,000 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 32.2370, -101.3880. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, TX | 9 km (5 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Glasscock County, TX | 43 km (27 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Glasscock County |
| Mitchell County, TX | 44 km (27 mi) | E | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Martin County, TX | 55 km (34 mi) | W | earthquakes near Martin County |
| Sterling County, TX | 55 km (34 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sterling County |
| Borden County, TX | 56 km (35 mi) | N | earthquakes near Borden County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 7 km SE of Big Spring, Texas
- 1.9 19 km N of Stanton, Texas
- 1.6 20 km NNW of Stanton, Texas
- 1.6 28 km S of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.9 10 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
- 1.6 20 km W of Garden City, Texas
- 1.5 2 km WNW of Garden City, Texas
- 1.5 13 km W of Forsan, Texas
- 1.8 1 km NNE of Garden City, Texas
- 2.5 13 km N of Stanton, Texas
- 2.3 11 km S of Forsan, Texas
- 1.5 2 km WNW of Garden City, Texas
- 1.7 1 km NW of Garden City, Texas
- 1.7 23 km SW of Snyder, Texas
- 2.9 11 km S of Forsan, 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.