QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Raton, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Raton in the 24 hours to 6:37 am MST (13:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) WNW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Raton

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 44 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Raton, NM, at 3:51 pm MDT on 26 April 2026 (21:51 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 31 km N of Cimarron, New Mexico

3:51 pm MDT, Apr 26, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Colfax County 32 kmTaos County 69 kmCostilla County 70 kmMora County 90 kmLas Animas County 97 kmHuerfano County 99 kmAlamosa County 115 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
3:51 pm MDT on 26 April 2026 ()
Where
44 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Raton, NM · earthquakes near Raton
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Colfax County, 32 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 123 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Raton, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 4.3 on 2023-03-10 — about 11,000 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 36.7953, -104.9187. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Colfax County, NM 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Colfax County
Taos County, NM 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Taos County
Costilla County, CO 70 km (44 mi) NW earthquakes near Costilla County
Mora County, NM 90 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Mora County
Las Animas County, CO 97 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Animas County
Huerfano County, CO 99 km (62 mi) N earthquakes near Huerfano County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 16 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
  2. 1.7 33 km NNE of Cimarron, New Mexico
  3. 2.4 21 km S of Weston, Colorado
  4. 1.6 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  5. 1.8 18 km NNE of Ute Park, New Mexico
  6. 2.6 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  7. 3.4 31 km S of Weston, Colorado
  8. 1.7 12 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  9. 1.8 11 km S of Weston, Colorado
  10. 1.6 10 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  11. 1.6 17 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  12. 1.5 10 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  13. 1.5 7 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
  14. 1.9 30 km S of Segundo, Colorado
  15. 2.1 15 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado

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.