Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Loving, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Loving in the 24 hours to 8:31 am MST (15:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 39 km (24 mi) W, at 4:44 am MST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Loving
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM, at 8:15 am MDT on 21 July 2026 (14:15 UTC), 7.4 km deep.
USGS: 33 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico
- When
- 8:15 am MDT on 21 July 2026 ()
- Where
- 41 km (25 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM · earthquakes near Loving
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loving County, 33 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 113 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Loving, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Loving, NM. 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Loving, 41 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 in our catalogue was M 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 500,000 times the energy of this one.
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 31.9650, -103.8820. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving County, TX | 33 km (21 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Eddy County, NM | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Reeves County, TX | 75 km (46 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Reeves County |
| Winkler County, TX | 79 km (49 mi) | E | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Culberson County, TX | 84 km (52 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Ward County, TX | 89 km (55 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ward County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.9 54 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.5 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.6 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.9 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.3 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.5 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.6 55 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.8 54 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.1 45 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.7 54 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.5 33 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 2.2 34 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.8 54 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 1.5 44 km NW 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
- 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.