QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Belen, NM

USGS: 7 km SW of Pueblitos, New Mexico

61 km (38 mi) SSW of Albuquerque, NM

3:16 pm MST, Feb 25, 2022 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Belen Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Valencia County 16 kmBernalillo County 55 kmSocorro County 66 kmTorrance County 87 kmCibola County 112 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
3:16 pm MST on 25 February 2022 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) SSW of Belen, NM · earthquakes near Belen
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
18 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Valencia County, 16 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Coyote Springs fault, 19 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1612 days ago

A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) SSW of Belen, NM, at 3:16 pm MST on 25 February 2022 (22:16 UTC). 18 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Jarales, Rio Communities, Los Chavez, Tome, Las Maravillas, El Cerro.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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.

Where

Epicentre 34.5776, -106.8398. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Valencia County, NM 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Valencia County
Bernalillo County, NM 55 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Bernalillo County
Socorro County, NM 66 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Socorro County
Torrance County, NM 87 km (54 mi) E earthquakes near Torrance County
Cibola County, NM 112 km (70 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cibola County
Santa Fe County, NM 131 km (82 mi) NE earthquakes near Santa Fe County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 2 km NNW of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  2. 3.0 16 km WSW of Pueblitos, New Mexico
  3. 3.0 15 km WSW of Pueblitos, New Mexico
  4. 2.8 15 km W of Pueblitos, New Mexico
  5. 2.6 7 km WNW of Veguita, New Mexico
  6. 3.6 4 km WNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  7. 2.6 4 km WNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  8. 2.7 14 km NW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  9. 3.7 6 km WNW of Veguita, New Mexico
  10. 3.2 6 km NW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  11. 2.9 3 km NNE of Abeytas, New Mexico
  12. 3.6 2 km WNW of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  13. 3.9 7 km NNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  14. 2.7 11 km ESE of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  15. 3.1 5 km ESE of Las Nutrias, 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

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