QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Atoka, NM

USGS: 14 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico

1:18 pm MDT, Apr 6, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Atoka Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 23 kmChaves County 80 kmLea County 97 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
1:18 pm MDT on 6 April 2026 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) SSW of Atoka, NM · earthquakes near Atoka
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eddy County, 23 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 104 days ago

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) SSW of Atoka, NM, at 1:18 pm MDT on 6 April 2026 (19:18 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: Artesia, La Huerta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 63 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 32.6402, -104.4291. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 23 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Eddy County
Chaves County, NM 80 km (50 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County
Lea County, NM 97 km (60 mi) E earthquakes near Lea County
Loving County, TX 120 km (75 mi) SE earthquakes near Loving County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  2. 2.8 13 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  3. 2.5 19 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  4. 2.7 22 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  5. 2.9 5 km SSE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
  6. 3.1 25 km WNW of La Huerta, New Mexico
  7. 2.5 26 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  8. 2.6 24 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
  9. 2.9 27 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  10. 2.6 28 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
  11. 3.4 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  12. 2.6 28 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  13. 3.1 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  14. 2.9 25 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  15. 2.3 6 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, 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.