Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Clifton, AZ
No earthquake was likely felt in Clifton in the 24 hours to 10:07 pm MST (05:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, in Clifton, at 7:17 pm MST on 4 August 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Clifton
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Clifton, AZ, at 6:15 am MST on 3 October 2023 (13:15 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona
- When
- 6:15 am MST on 3 October 2023 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) south-southeast of Clifton, AZ · earthquakes near Clifton
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Greenlee County, 65 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1064 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Clifton, AZ
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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 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Clifton, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Clifton 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 13 km SW of Franklin, Arizona · 11 km SSW of this epicentre
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 32.6672, -109.1103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenlee County, AZ | 65 km (40 mi) | N | earthquakes near Greenlee County |
| Grant County, NM | 69 km (43 mi) | E | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Graham County, AZ | 78 km (48 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Graham County |
| Hidalgo County, NM | 92 km (57 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hidalgo County |
| Cochise County, AZ | 111 km (69 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Cochise County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
5 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 0 km NE of Clifton, Arizona
- 2.6 8 km W of San Simon, Arizona
- 2.9 10 km S of Franklin, Arizona
- 2.5 1 km SSE of Franklin, Arizona
- 2.5 16 km WSW of Lordsburg, 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.