Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3mb_lg
Earthquake near Stanton, TX
USGS: 18 km N of Stanton, Texas
42 km (26 mi) NE of Midland, TX
- When
- 12:21 pm CST on 31 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) N of Stanton, TX · earthquakes near Stanton
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Martin County, 15 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2036 days ago
A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) N of Stanton, TX, at 12:21 pm CST on 31 December 2020 (18:21 UTC). 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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
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 32.2963, -101.8003. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin County, TX | 15 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Martin County |
| Howard County, TX | 34 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Dawson County, TX | 52 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Dawson County |
| Glasscock County, TX | 54 km (34 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Glasscock County |
| Midland County, TX | 57 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Midland County |
| Borden County, TX | 60 km (37 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Borden County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 western Texas
- 1.5 14 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas
- 2.1 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.2 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.4 12 km N of Midland, Texas
- 2.5 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.3 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.9 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.3 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.7 12 km N of Midland, Texas
- 1.6 18 km N of Stanton, Texas
- 1.6 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.7 7 km SE of Midland, Texas
- 1.8 11 km N of Midland, Texas
- 1.5 7 km SE 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
- 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.