Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Raton, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Raton in the 24 hours to 2:41 pm MST (21:41 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) WNW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Raton
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 35 km (21 mi) west of Raton, NM, at 5:04 pm MST on 22 December 2020 (00:04 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25 km SSW of Segundo, Colorado
- When
- 5:04 pm MST on 22 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 35 km (21 mi) west of Raton, NM · earthquakes near Raton
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Colfax County, 36 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2076 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Raton, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Raton, 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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Raton, 35 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.
Likely felt in: Raton 35 km, intensity III · Trinidad 42 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more
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 since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-12-23 — about 45 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 6 km S of Valdez, Colorado · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 20 km S of Weston, Colorado · 5 km N 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 36.8989, -104.8279. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax County, NM | 36 km (22 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Colfax County |
| Costilla County, CO | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Costilla County |
| Taos County, NM | 81 km (50 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Taos County |
| Las Animas County, CO | 84 km (52 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Las Animas County |
| Huerfano County, CO | 88 km (55 mi) | N | earthquakes near Huerfano County |
| Mora County, NM | 102 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mora County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 16 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.6 14 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.5 14 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.6 14 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.8 New Mexico
- 2.8 15 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.1 25 km SSW of Segundo, Colorado
- 1.7 31 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.5 22 km NNE of Cimarron, New Mexico
- 2.3 29 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 2.1 30 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.3 25 km S of Segundo, Colorado
- 1.7 15 km NNE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.6 19 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 15 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.