Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Marfa, TX
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Marfa in the last 24 hours. M 3.4, 156 km (97 mi) NNW of Marfa, at 3:25 pm CST on 13 November 2026 (21:25 UTC); the estimated shaking in Marfa was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Marfa
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Marfa, TX, at 2:54 am CDT on 16 April 2018 (07:54 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km S of Valentine, Texas
- When
- 2:54 am CDT on 16 April 2018 ()
- Where
- 50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Marfa, TX · earthquakes near Marfa
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Jeff Davis County, 34 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3043 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Marfa, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Marfa, TX. No account or email needed.
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 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Marfa, 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.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.3 The 1931 Valentine, Texas Earthquake · 41 km NE of this epicentre
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 30.4745, -104.5032. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Davis County, TX | 34 km (21 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Jeff Davis County |
| Presidio County, TX | 57 km (35 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Presidio County |
| Culberson County, TX | 108 km (67 mi) | N | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Reeves County, TX | 120 km (74 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Reeves County |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 137 km (85 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Hudspeth County |
| Brewster County, TX | 141 km (88 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Brewster County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
10 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 17 km NNW of Valentine, Texas
- 2.3 13 km WSW of Fort Davis, Texas
- 1.9 24 km WSW of Fort Davis, Texas
- 2.8 24 km WSW of Fort Davis, Texas
- 2.9 38 km SSW of Valentine, Texas
- 1.6 16 km NNW of Marfa, Texas
- 2.5 21 km NW of Valentine, Texas
- 2.6 45 km SSW of Valentine, Texas
- 2.1 16 km NNW of Marfa, Texas
- 1.9 32 km WNW of Valentine, 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
- 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.