QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the 24 hours to 10:05 am CST (16:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 35 km (22 mi) ESE, at 4:17 am CST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Midland

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 33 km (21 mi) east-southeast of Midland, TX, at 9:28 pm CDT on 14 October 2026 (02:28 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 26 km W of Garden City, Texas

38 km (24 mi) ESE of Midland, TX

9:28 pm CDT, Oct 14, 2026 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Glasscock County 22 kmMidland County 24 kmMartin County 53 kmHoward County 57 kmReagan County 60 kmUpton County 63 kmSterling County 66 kmEctor County 74 kmCrane County 85 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
9:28 pm CDT on 14 October 2026 ()
Where
33 km (21 mi) east-southeast of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Glasscock County, 22 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 27 days ago

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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Midland, 33 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stanton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 22,000 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 31.8690, -101.7570. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Glasscock County, TX 22 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Glasscock County
Midland County, TX 24 km (15 mi) WSW earthquakes near Midland County
Martin County, TX 53 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Martin County
Howard County, TX 57 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near Howard County
Reagan County, TX 60 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Reagan County
Upton County, TX 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Upton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.6 8 km E of Midland, Texas
  2. 0.6 30 km SSE of Midland, Texas
  3. 0.6 11 km W of Forsan, Texas
  4. 1.2 10 km W of Forsan, Texas
  5. 0.6 10 km S of Midland, Texas
  6. 1.7 24 km W of Garden City, Texas
  7. 2.5 24 km W of Garden City, Texas
  8. 2.3 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  9. 2.4 10 km S of Midland, Texas
  10. 1.5 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  11. 1.6 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  12. 2.7 10 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  13. 2.1 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  14. 1.6 16 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  15. 1.8 28 km SW of Garden City, 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.