QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Jal, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Jal in the 24 hours to 4:49 pm MST (23:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 3:01 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jal

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west of Jal, NM, at 6:07 am MDT on 29 March 2026 (12:07 UTC), 7.6 km deep.

USGS: 39 km NNW of Mentone, Texas

6:07 am MDT, Mar 29, 2026 · · 7.6 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loving County 26 kmWinkler County 66 kmEddy County 73 kmWard County 82 kmReeves County 82 kmLea County 87 kmCulberson County 103 kmAndrews County 104 kmEctor County 111 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
6:07 am MDT on 29 March 2026 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loving County, 26 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 227 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Jal, 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.0 on 2020-03-26 — about 63,000 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 32.0500, -103.7030. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loving County, TX 26 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Loving County
Winkler County, TX 66 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Winkler County
Eddy County, NM 73 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Eddy County
Ward County, TX 82 km (51 mi) SE earthquakes near Ward County
Reeves County, TX 82 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Reeves County
Lea County, NM 87 km (54 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lea County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 21 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  2. 1.8 21 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  3. 1.5 34 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  4. 1.9 22 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  5. 1.7 34 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  6. 1.6 22 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  7. 2.3 22 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  8. 2.1 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  9. 2.5 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  10. 1.8 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  11. 1.9 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  12. 1.6 22 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  13. 2.9 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 2.7 22 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  15. 2.0 22 km WNW of Mentone, 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.