QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM

USGS: 22 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico

8:00 pm MDT, Oct 9, 2023 · · 10 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Carlsbad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 20 kmCulberson County 102 kmLoving County 104 kmLea County 111 kmChaves 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
8:00 pm MDT on 9 October 2023 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eddy County, 20 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1021 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM, at 8:00 pm MDT on 9 October 2023 (02:00 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: La Huerta.

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 32.3584, -104.4798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 20 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Eddy County
Culberson County, TX 102 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Culberson County
Loving County, TX 104 km (64 mi) ESE earthquakes near Loving County
Lea County, NM 111 km (69 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lea County
Chaves County, NM 112 km (69 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County
Otero County, NM 123 km (76 mi) WNW earthquakes near Otero County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  2. 2.5 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  3. 2.7 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  4. 2.4 32 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  5. 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  6. 3.5 37 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  7. 2.8 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  8. 2.8 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  9. 2.9 12 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  10. 2.6 8 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
  11. 2.7 32 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  12. 2.4 33 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
  13. 2.8 13 km W of Whites City, New Mexico
  14. 2.8 12 km W of Whites City, New Mexico
  15. 3.2 12 km S of Atoka, 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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