QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Nixon, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Nixon in the last 24 hours. M 3.1, 122 km (76 mi) WSW of Nixon, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Nixon was intensity II (weak). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. Every earthquake near Nixon

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) south-southeast of Nixon, TX, at 5:56 pm CDT on 19 September 2026 (22:56 UTC), 9.1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km SSW of Smiley, Texas

89 km (56 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

5:56 pm CDT, Sep 19, 2026 · · 9.1 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 31 kmDeWitt County 32 kmWilson County 40 kmGonzales County 40 kmGuadalupe County 56 kmGoliad County 59 kmCaldwell County 77 kmLavaca County 78 kmVictoria County 79 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
5:56 pm CDT on 19 September 2026 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) south-southeast of Nixon, TX · earthquakes near Nixon
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
9.1 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Karnes County, 31 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 53 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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Nixon, 16 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: Nixon 16 km, intensity III · Yorktown 25 km, intensity III · Stockdale 29 km, intensity III · Karnes City 36 km, intensity II · Cuero 38 km, intensity II · Gonzales 46 km, intensity II · Floresville 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 2025-01-30 — about 500 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 29.1410, -97.6790. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Karnes County
DeWitt County, TX 32 km (20 mi) ESE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Wilson County, TX 40 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Wilson County
Gonzales County, TX 40 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Guadalupe County, TX 56 km (35 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 59 km (36 mi) SSE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.9 11 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  2. 0.9 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  3. 2.8 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  4. 2.2 18 km S of Nixon, Texas
  5. 1.2 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  6. 1.6 19 km S of Nixon, Texas
  7. 1.6 17 km S of Nixon, Texas
  8. 1.6 17 km S of Nixon, Texas
  9. 2.7 8 km ESE of Smiley, Texas
  10. 1.1 9 km ESE of Smiley, Texas
  11. 1.7 16 km SSW of Smiley, Texas
  12. 1.3 17 km SSE of Nixon, Texas
  13. 1.7 16 km S of Smiley, Texas
  14. 1.1 14 km SSW of Smiley, Texas
  15. 1.8 15 km SSW of Smiley, 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.