Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Jal, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Jal in the 24 hours to 9:04 am MST (16:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 3:01 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jal
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west of Jal, NM, at 1:38 pm MDT on 26 October 2026 (19:38 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 37 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- When
- 1:38 pm MDT on 26 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 50 km (31 mi) west of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Loving County, 29 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 16 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Jal, NM
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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 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Jal, 50 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: Loving 43 km, intensity II · Jal 50 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 in our catalogue was M 5.0 on 2020-03-26 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.
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 32.0730, -103.7200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving County, TX | 29 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Winkler County, TX | 68 km (42 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Eddy County, NM | 70 km (43 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Reeves County, TX | 85 km (53 mi) | S | earthquakes near Reeves County |
| Ward County, TX | 85 km (53 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ward County |
| Lea County, NM | 85 km (53 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lea County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
29 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.9 17 km SSW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.2 18 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.4 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.4 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.3 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.6 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.4 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 1.7 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.0 39 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.8 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.9 39 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.7 39 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.4 37 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 2.1 17 km SSW of Jal, New Mexico
- 2.1 14 km SSW of Jal, New Mexico
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| reported intensity | not reported | 2.2 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 1 |
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.