QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near Atoka, NM

USGS: 9 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico

6:00 pm MDT, May 14, 2022 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 1,900 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Atoka Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 30 kmChaves County 74 kmLea County 98 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
6:00 pm MDT on 14 May 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) SW of Atoka, NM · earthquakes near Atoka
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eddy County, 30 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1532 days ago

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) SW of Atoka, NM, at 6:00 pm MDT on 14 May 2022 (00:00 UTC). 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: Artesia.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× 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 32.6989, -104.4516. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 30 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Eddy County
Chaves County, NM 74 km (46 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County
Lea County, NM 98 km (61 mi) E earthquakes near Lea County
Loving County, TX 127 km (79 mi) SE earthquakes near Loving County
Lincoln County, NM 148 km (92 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.5 24 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  2. 3.4 30 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  3. 2.8 38 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  4. 2.8 7 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
  5. 3.0 7 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
  6. 2.5 18 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  7. 3.5 19 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  8. 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  9. 2.5 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  10. 2.7 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  11. 2.4 32 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  12. 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  13. 3.5 37 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  14. 2.8 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  15. 2.8 33 km SSE of Hope, 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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