Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.2mwr
5 km E of Capulin, New Mexico
Yes. A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded 5 km E of Capulin, New Mexico, at 9:33 am MDT on 12 July 2021 (15:33 UTC), 13 km deep. 389 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 4.2 (mwr)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 389 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Rio Arriba County, 32 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1881 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Alamos, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Los Alamos, 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 112 km (70 mi) from the epicentre. 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 30 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.2 about 30 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 63× 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.
Where
Epicentre 36.2272, -106.7485. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Arriba County, NM | 32 km (20 mi) | N | earthquakes near Rio Arriba County |
| Los Alamos County, NM | 56 km (35 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Los Alamos County |
| Sandoval County, NM | 61 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Sandoval County |
| Santa Fe County, NM | 106 km (66 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Fe County |
| Taos County, NM | 107 km (66 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Taos County |
| Archuleta County, CO | 112 km (69 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Archuleta County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
20 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
- 2.6 26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
- 3.3 13 km NNW of La Cueva, New Mexico
- 3.6 22 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
- 2.9 11 km NNE of Gallina, New Mexico
- 2.9 28 km NNW of Regina, New Mexico
- 2.9 7 km ENE of Capulin, New Mexico
- 2.8 7 km ESE of Cuba, New Mexico
- 3.5 9 km E of Cuba, New Mexico
- 2.5 10 km E of Cuba, New Mexico
- 2.9 3 km ESE of Capulin, New Mexico
- 2.6 9 km N of Capulin, New Mexico
- 2.5 11 km NW of Jemez Springs, New Mexico
- 2.6 7 km WSW of La Cueva, New Mexico
- 2.8 4 km NNW of Regina, New Mexico
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.