Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9ml
Earthquake near Big Spring, TX
No earthquake was likely felt in Big Spring in the 24 hours to 11:21 am CST (17:21 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 3.9 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) northeast of Big Spring, TX, at 12:15 pm CDT on 23 July 2026 (17:15 UTC), 7.7 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 23 km NW of Westbrook, Texas
- When
- 12:15 pm CDT on 23 July 2026 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) northeast of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Howard County, 32 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 99 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 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 431 km (268 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Spring, 39 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Snyder 35 km, intensity IV · Big Spring 39 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 11 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 22× 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 4.3 on 2025-10-12 — about 4 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 32.5040, -101.1910. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, TX | 32 km (20 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Mitchell County, TX | 33 km (21 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Borden County, TX | 35 km (22 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Borden County |
| Scurry County, TX | 37 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Scurry County |
| Sterling County, TX | 75 km (47 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sterling County |
| Martin County, TX | 76 km (47 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Martin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.3 7 km NW of Forsan, Texas
- 1.1 7 km NW of Forsan, Texas
- 1.3 14 km SW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.2 19 km NW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.4 15 km SSE of Coahoma, Texas
- 1.5 23 km S of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.6 25 km SSW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.7 19 km NW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.5 15 km NNW of Sand Springs, Texas
- 1.5 14 km NNW of Sand Springs, Texas
- 2.3 6 km SE of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.5 14 km SW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.5 19 km NW of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.5 22 km S of Westbrook, Texas
- 1.5 6 km ESE of Big Spring, 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.