Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Mesquite, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Mesquite in the 24 hours to 3:52 am MST (10:52 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 238 km (148 mi) ESE, at 3:27 pm MDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mesquite
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Mesquite, NM, at 9:13 am MDT on 9 October 2020 (15:13 UTC), 9.2 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km NE of Mesquite, New Mexico
45 km (28 mi) NNW of El Paso, TX · 19 km (12 mi) SE of Las Cruces, NM
- When
- 9:13 am MDT on 9 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Mesquite, NM · earthquakes near Mesquite
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Doña Ana County, 23 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Organ Mountains fault, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2153 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mesquite, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Mesquite, NM. 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Mesquite, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: San Miguel, Vado, University Park, Berino, Mesilla, Las Cruces.
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.
Where
Epicentre 32.2084, -106.6502. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doña Ana County, NM | 23 km (15 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Doña Ana County |
| El Paso County, TX | 62 km (39 mi) | SE | earthquakes near El Paso County |
| Otero County, NM | 96 km (60 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Otero County |
| Luna County, NM | 103 km (64 mi) | W | earthquakes near Luna County |
| Sierra County, NM | 113 km (70 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sierra County |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 147 km (91 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Hudspeth County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.