Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6mb_lg
Earthquake near Questa, NM
USGS: 30 km ENE of Red River, New Mexico
- When
- 3:28 am MDT on 7 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) ENE of Questa, NM · earthquakes near Questa
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 1.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Colfax County, 49 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3629 days ago
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) ENE of Questa, NM, at 3:28 am MDT on 7 August 2016 (09:28 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
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 4.0 on 2016-02-06 — about 130 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 36.8459, -105.1098. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax County, NM | 49 km (31 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Colfax County |
| Costilla County, CO | 56 km (35 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Costilla County |
| Taos County, NM | 56 km (35 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Taos County |
| Huerfano County, CO | 95 km (59 mi) | N | earthquakes near Huerfano County |
| Mora County, NM | 97 km (61 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mora County |
| Alamosa County, CO | 100 km (62 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alamosa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 16 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 1.6 17 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 13 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.0 13 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.6 12 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.6 16 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 1.8 16 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.7 14 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.1 16 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.8 16 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.6 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 3.1 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.5 13 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 3.8 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.1 17 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
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
- 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.