QuakeIndex

mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Farmington, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Farmington in the 24 hours to 9:51 am MST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 655 km (407 mi) E, at 4:21 am MDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Farmington

No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.6 mining explosion was recorded 38 km (23 mi) southwest of Farmington, NM, at 12:35 pm MST on 21 November 2025 (19:35 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 26 km SSW of Ojo Amarillo, New Mexico

12:35 pm MST, Nov 21, 2025 · · 0.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Juan County 18 kmMontezuma County 94 kmMcKinley County 104 kmLa Plata County 107 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:35 pm MST on 21 November 2025 ()
Where
38 km (23 mi) southwest of Farmington, NM · earthquakes near Farmington
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Juan County, 18 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 264 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Farmington, 38 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Waterflow.

USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.

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 36.4940, -108.5240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Juan County, NM 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near San Juan County
Montezuma County, CO 94 km (58 mi) N earthquakes near Montezuma County
McKinley County, NM 104 km (65 mi) SSE earthquakes near McKinley County
La Plata County, CO 107 km (67 mi) NE earthquakes near La Plata County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.