QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Alpine, TX

USGS: 27 km SSE of Balmorhea, Texas

3:05 pm CDT, Apr 7, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Alpine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jeff Davis County 54 kmReeves County 63 kmPecos County 88 kmWard County 99 kmPresidio County 102 kmBrewster County 111 kmCulberson County 114 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
3:05 pm CDT on 7 April 2018 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) N of Alpine, TX · earthquakes near Alpine
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jeff Davis County, 54 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3017 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) N of Alpine, TX, at 3:05 pm CDT on 7 April 2018 (20:05 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: Fort Davis.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. 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

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 30.7477, -103.6431. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jeff Davis County, TX 54 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Jeff Davis County
Reeves County, TX 63 km (39 mi) N earthquakes near Reeves County
Pecos County, TX 88 km (55 mi) E earthquakes near Pecos County
Ward County, TX 99 km (62 mi) NNE earthquakes near Ward County
Presidio County, TX 102 km (63 mi) SW earthquakes near Presidio County
Brewster County, TX 111 km (69 mi) SSE earthquakes near Brewster County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 34 km WNW of Fort Stockton, Texas
  2. 2.6 19 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  3. 3.0 11 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  4. 2.8 31 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  5. 2.9 21 km SSW of Lindsay, Texas
  6. 1.6 22 km S of Lindsay, Texas
  7. 1.5 32 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  8. 2.5 25 km SSE of Lindsay, Texas
  9. 2.6 24 km SSE of Lindsay, Texas
  10. 2.6 14 km N of Balmorhea, Texas
  11. 2.5 29 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  12. 3.1 31 km SW of Coyanosa, Texas
  13. 3.1 26 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  14. 2.7 23 km E of Balmorhea, Texas
  15. 2.5 24 km E of Balmorhea, 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.