QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6mb_lg

Earthquake near Stanton, TX

USGS: 17 km N of Stanton, Texas

41 km (25 mi) NE of Midland, TX

10:49 pm CST, Dec 31, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stanton Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 15 kmHoward County 35 kmDawson County 52 kmGlasscock County 54 kmMidland County 55 kmBorden County 61 kmAndrews County 78 kmMitchell County 83 kmEctor County 83 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
10:49 pm CST on 31 December 2020 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) N of Stanton, TX · earthquakes near Stanton
Magnitude
M 2.6 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Martin County, 15 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 963 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) N of Stanton, TX, at 10:49 pm CST on 31 December 2020 (04:49 UTC). 2 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 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2020-12-31 — about 130 times the energy of this one.

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 32.2854, -101.8087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 15 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Martin County
Howard County, TX 35 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Howard County
Dawson County, TX 52 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dawson County
Glasscock County, TX 54 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glasscock County
Midland County, TX 55 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Midland County
Borden County, TX 61 km (38 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. 1.8 14 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  2. 2.6 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  3. 2.3 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  4. 1.6 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  5. 1.7 western Texas
  6. 1.5 14 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas
  7. 2.1 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  8. 2.2 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  9. 2.4 12 km N of Midland, Texas
  10. 2.5 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  11. 2.3 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  12. 2.9 12 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  13. 2.3 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  14. 1.7 12 km N of Midland, Texas
  15. 1.6 18 km N of Stanton, 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.