QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8mb_lg

Earthquake near Gardendale, TX

USGS: 17 km NNE of Gardendale, Texas

24 km (15 mi) NW of Midland, TX

2:32 am CDT, Mar 13, 2017 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Andrews County 35 kmMartin County 36 kmEctor County 41 kmMidland County 49 kmGaines County 71 kmDawson County 72 kmWinkler County 80 kmGlasscock County 81 kmHoward County 83 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
2:32 am CDT on 13 March 2017 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) NNE of Gardendale, TX · earthquakes near Gardendale
Magnitude
M 2.8 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Andrews County, 35 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3405 days ago

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) NNE of Gardendale, TX, at 2:32 am CDT on 13 March 2017 (07:32 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Andrews, Midland.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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 32.1690, -102.3041. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Andrews County, TX 35 km (22 mi) WNW earthquakes near Andrews County
Martin County, TX 36 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near Martin County
Ector County, TX 41 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ector County
Midland County, TX 49 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near Midland County
Gaines County, TX 71 km (44 mi) NNW earthquakes near Gaines County
Dawson County, TX 72 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Dawson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 17 km N of Stanton, Texas
  2. 3.1 19 km N of Stanton, Texas
  3. 4.0 18 km N of Stanton, Texas
  4. 3.6 17 km N of Stanton, Texas
  5. 3.3 18 km N of Stanton, Texas
  6. 2.3 30 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  7. 2.7 6 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
  8. 3.3 17 km NW of Midland, Texas
  9. 2.5 11 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  10. 3.3 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  11. 3.0 10 km NNE of Odessa, Texas
  12. 2.6 10 km SSE of Gardendale, Texas
  13. 2.6 13 km NNW of Midland, TX
  14. 2.3 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  15. 2.4 12 km NNW of Midland, 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.