QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1mb_lg

Earthquake near Jal, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Jal in the 24 hours to 1:22 pm MST (20:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 3:01 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jal

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Jal, NM, at 11:22 pm MDT on 21 July 2025 (05:22 UTC), 1.6 km deep.

USGS: 18 km NNW of Jal, New Mexico

11:22 pm MDT, Jul 21, 2025 · · 1.6 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Winkler County 52 kmLoving County 54 kmAndrews County 59 kmLea County 61 kmGaines County 80 kmEctor County 81 kmWard County 85 kmEddy County 100 kmYoakum County 108 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
11:22 pm MDT on 21 July 2025 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
Magnitude
M 3.1 (mb_lg)
Depth
1.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Winkler County, 52 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 404 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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Jal, 18 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: Jal 18 km, intensity III · Eunice 22 km, intensity III · Kermit 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2021-07-19 — about 22 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 32.2638, -103.2667. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Winkler County, TX 52 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Winkler County
Loving County, TX 54 km (34 mi) SSW earthquakes near Loving County
Andrews County, TX 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Andrews County
Lea County, NM 61 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lea County
Gaines County, TX 80 km (50 mi) NE earthquakes near Gaines County
Ector County, TX 81 km (51 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ector County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 10 km NNW of Kermit, Texas
  2. 2.0 36 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  3. 1.6 36 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  4. 1.5 17 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  5. 2.5 20 km SW of Monument, New Mexico
  6. 2.6 27 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  7. 2.0 26 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  8. 1.5 26 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  9. 2.5 17 km NNW of Jal, New Mexico
  10. 1.9 25 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  11. 1.8 25 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  12. 1.7 21 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  13. 1.9 27 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  14. 2.5 35 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  15. 3.1 37 km ESE of Malaga, 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.