Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
USGS: 33 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
- When
- 9:45 pm MST on 7 January 2025 ()
- Where
- 37 km (23 mi) WNW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 29 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 561 days ago
A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) WNW of Carlsbad, NM, at 9:45 pm MST on 7 January 2025 (04:45 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 250 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 32.5265, -104.5996. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 29 km (18 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Chaves County, NM | 94 km (58 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chaves County |
| Otero County, NM | 108 km (67 mi) | W | earthquakes near Otero County |
| Lea County, NM | 115 km (71 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Loving County, TX | 124 km (77 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 140 km (87 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Hudspeth 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.
- 2.9 27 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.6 28 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
- 3.4 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.6 28 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.1 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.9 25 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.3 6 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
- 2.6 5 km SSE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
- 3.3 12 km S of Atoka, New Mexico
- 2.5 9 km S of Atoka, New Mexico
- 3.1 17 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 4.4 9 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
- 2.8 14 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
- 3.0 11 km S of Atoka, New Mexico
- 3.6 22 km WSW of Carlsbad, 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.