QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Stanton, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Stanton in the last 24 hours. M 3.8, 228 km (142 mi) WSW of Stanton, at 7:45 am CDT on 21 October 2026 (12:45 UTC); the estimated shaking in Stanton was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Stanton

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) west of Stanton, TX, at 11:22 am CDT on 20 October 2026 (16:22 UTC), 8.9 km deep.

USGS: 5 km W of Stanton, Texas

27 km (17 mi) ENE of Midland, TX

11:22 am CDT, Oct 20, 2026 · · 8.9 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 23 kmMidland County 38 kmGlasscock County 42 kmHoward County 43 kmDawson County 69 kmEctor County 72 kmAndrews County 77 kmBorden County 78 kmSterling County 81 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
11:22 am CDT on 20 October 2026 ()
Where
6 km (3 mi) west of Stanton, TX · earthquakes near Stanton
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Martin County, 23 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 29 hours 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Stanton, 6 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.

Likely felt in: Stanton 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 180,000 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 32.1250, -101.8470. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 23 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Martin County
Midland County, TX 38 km (23 mi) SSW earthquakes near Midland County
Glasscock County, TX 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Glasscock County
Howard County, TX 43 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Howard County
Dawson County, TX 69 km (43 mi) N earthquakes near Dawson County
Ector County, TX 72 km (45 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ector County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 33 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  2. 1.9 20 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  3. 2.5 20 km NW of Stanton, 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.