QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

2 km E of Capulin, New Mexico

Yes. A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 2 km E of Capulin, New Mexico, at 4:09 am MDT on 16 October 2021 (10:09 UTC), 4.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 4.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rio Arriba County 32 kmLos Alamos County 58 kmSandoval County 61 kmSanta Fe County 108 kmTaos County 109 kmArchuleta County 111 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
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
4.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Rio Arriba County, 32 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1556 days ago

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 25 km (16 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 in our catalogue was M 4.2 on 2021-07-12 — about 180 times the energy of this one.

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 36.2285, -106.7745. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rio Arriba County, NM 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rio Arriba County
Los Alamos County, NM 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Los Alamos County
Sandoval County, NM 61 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Sandoval County
Santa Fe County, NM 108 km (67 mi) SE earthquakes near Santa Fe County
Taos County, NM 109 km (68 mi) ENE earthquakes near Taos County
Archuleta County, CO 111 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

16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.5 26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
  2. 2.6 26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
  3. 3.3 13 km NNW of La Cueva, New Mexico
  4. 3.6 22 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
  5. 2.9 11 km NNE of Gallina, New Mexico
  6. 2.9 28 km NNW of Regina, New Mexico
  7. 2.9 7 km ENE of Capulin, New Mexico
  8. 2.8 7 km ESE of Cuba, New Mexico
  9. 3.5 9 km E of Cuba, New Mexico
  10. 2.5 10 km E of Cuba, New Mexico
  11. 2.9 3 km ESE of Capulin, New Mexico
  12. 2.6 9 km N of Capulin, New Mexico
  13. 2.5 11 km NW of Jemez Springs, New Mexico
  14. 2.6 7 km WSW of La Cueva, New Mexico
  15. 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.