QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM

USGS: 27 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico

4:23 am MDT, Jul 26, 2024 · · 8.6 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 36 kmCulberson County 94 kmOtero County 111 kmLoving County 112 kmHudspeth County 117 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
4:23 am MDT on 26 July 2024 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
8.6 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Eddy County, 36 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 724 days ago

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM, at 4:23 am MDT on 26 July 2024 (10:23 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2024-02-23 — about 89 times the energy of this one.

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 32.2889, -104.6318. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 36 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near Eddy County
Culberson County, TX 94 km (59 mi) S earthquakes near Culberson County
Otero County, NM 111 km (69 mi) WNW earthquakes near Otero County
Loving County, TX 112 km (70 mi) ESE earthquakes near Loving County
Hudspeth County, TX 117 km (73 mi) SW earthquakes near Hudspeth County
Chaves County, NM 120 km (75 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 4.4 9 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
  2. 2.8 14 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
  3. 3.0 11 km S of Atoka, New Mexico
  4. 3.6 22 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  5. 3.1 28 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  6. 2.5 19 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  7. 2.6 30 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  8. 2.8 30 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  9. 2.6 24 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  10. 2.6 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  11. 2.5 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  12. 3.7 19 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  13. 3.1 14 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  14. 2.9 30 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  15. 3.3 35 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.