Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mb_lg
Earthquake near Clayton, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Clayton in the 24 hours to 5:30 am MST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 176 km (109 mi) WNW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Clayton
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Clayton, NM, at 2:00 pm MDT on 17 March 2022 (20:00 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 22 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km SSW of Clayton, New Mexico
- When
- 2:00 pm MDT on 17 March 2022 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Clayton, NM · earthquakes near Clayton
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 22 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Union County, 25 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1629 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Clayton, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Clayton, 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 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 401 km (249 mi) from the epicentre. In Clayton, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× 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 36.3449, -103.2532. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, NM | 25 km (16 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Union County |
| Dallam County, TX | 59 km (37 mi) | E | earthquakes near Dallam County |
| Harding County, NM | 76 km (47 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Harding County |
| Cimarron County, OK | 80 km (49 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Cimarron County |
| Hartley County, TX | 81 km (50 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Hartley County |
| Oldham County, TX | 120 km (75 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Oldham County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 9 km SW of Texline, Texas
- 2.6 34 km NNW of Nara Visa, New Mexico
- 3.4 8 km S of Clayton, 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.