QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

50 km W of Mentone, Texas

Yes. A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 50 km W of Mentone, Texas, at 9:45 pm MDT on 18 April 2026 (03:45 UTC), 6.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 6.5 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culberson County 48 kmLoving County 56 kmReeves County 59 kmEddy County 85 kmWard County 99 kmWinkler County 103 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 3.3 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Culberson County, 48 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 132 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 234 km (145 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 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× more

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 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 1,400 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 31.7060, -104.1290. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culberson County, TX 48 km (30 mi) SW earthquakes near Culberson County
Loving County, TX 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Loving County
Reeves County, TX 59 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Reeves County
Eddy County, NM 85 km (53 mi) NNW earthquakes near Eddy County
Ward County, TX 99 km (62 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ward County
Winkler County, TX 103 km (64 mi) E earthquakes near Winkler 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. 2.1 41 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  2. 1.5 34 km WSW of Mentone, Texas
  3. 1.8 53 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  4. 1.7 54 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  5. 1.9 54 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  6. 2.3 53 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  7. 1.6 50 km W of Mentone, Texas
  8. 2.0 51 km W of Mentone, Texas
  9. 1.9 50 km W of Mentone, Texas
  10. 2.2 50 km W of Mentone, Texas
  11. 1.8 51 km W of Mentone, Texas
  12. 2.2 50 km W of Mentone, Texas
  13. 1.6 51 km W of Mentone, Texas
  14. 1.7 57 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  15. 1.6 57 km S of Whites City, New Mexico

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.