QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Socorro, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Socorro in the 24 hours to 4:32 am MST (11:32 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 298 km (185 mi) SE, at 4:55 pm MDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Socorro

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Socorro, NM, at 12:41 am MST on 1 December 2022 (07:41 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km SW of Luis Lopez, New Mexico

12:41 am MST, Dec 1, 2022 · · 5.6 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Socorro County 3 kmValencia County 84 kmSierra County 98 kmTorrance County 114 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
12:41 am MST on 1 December 2022 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) south-southwest of Socorro, NM · earthquakes near Socorro
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.6 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Socorro County, 3 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
La Jencia fault, 15 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 1375 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Socorro, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Socorro 10 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 33.9704, -106.9149. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Socorro County, NM 3 km (2 mi) NW earthquakes near Socorro County
Valencia County, NM 84 km (52 mi) N earthquakes near Valencia County
Sierra County, NM 98 km (61 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Torrance County, NM 114 km (71 mi) NE earthquakes near Torrance County
Cibola County, NM 145 km (90 mi) NW earthquakes near Cibola County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 15 km E of Socorro, New Mexico
  2. 3.2 16 km ESE of Magdalena, New Mexico
  3. 2.5 13 km W of Socorro, New Mexico
  4. 2.6 10 km W of Socorro, New Mexico
  5. 2.7 37 km ENE of San Antonio, New Mexico
  6. 3.5 14 km NW of Alamillo, New Mexico
  7. 2.1 37 km ENE of San Antonio, New Mexico
  8. 2.2 2 km SSE of Luis Lopez, New Mexico
  9. 2.6 4 km W of Lemitar, New Mexico
  10. 3.1 5 km ENE of La Joya, New Mexico
  11. 2.2 New Mexico
  12. 3.3 4 km SSW of Luis Lopez, New Mexico
  13. 3.4 5 km SW of Luis Lopez, 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.