QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Big Spring, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Big Spring in the last 24 hours. M 2.5, 41 km (26 mi) ESE of Big Spring, at 5:05 pm CST on 11 November 2026 (23:05 UTC); the estimated shaking in Big Spring was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Big Spring

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Big Spring, TX, at 1:20 pm CDT on 30 August 2026 (18:20 UTC), 4.9 km deep.

USGS: 6 km ESE of Big Spring, Texas

69 km (43 mi) ENE of Midland, TX

1:20 pm CDT, Aug 30, 2026 · · 4.9 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Howard County 9 kmGlasscock County 41 kmMitchell County 47 kmMartin County 52 kmSterling County 55 kmBorden County 58 kmMidland County 72 kmScurry County 75 kmDawson County 77 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
1:20 pm CDT on 30 August 2026 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.9 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 72 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Big Spring, 7 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 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 45,000 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 32.2210, -101.4150. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Howard County, TX 9 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Howard County
Glasscock County, TX 41 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Glasscock County
Mitchell County, TX 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Mitchell County
Martin County, TX 52 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near Martin County
Sterling County, TX 55 km (34 mi) SE earthquakes near Sterling County
Borden County, TX 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Borden County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.6 17 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas
  2. 1.2 6 km WNW of Westbrook, Texas
  3. 1.2 14 km S of Ackerly, Texas
  4. 0.6 19 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  5. 1.0 20 km NNE of Stanton, Texas
  6. 1.7 20 km NNE of Stanton, Texas
  7. 2.1 24 km SSW of Westbrook, Texas
  8. 1.7 17 km N of Stanton, Texas
  9. 1.5 22 km S of Westbrook, Texas
  10. 1.5 25 km W of Garden City, Texas
  11. 1.2 13 km S of Forsan, Texas
  12. 2.0 17 km SE of Coahoma, Texas
  13. 0.7 25 km W of Garden City, Texas
  14. 0.4 15 km SSE of Stanton, Texas
  15. 1.1 3 km SSE of Sand Springs, 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.