QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Socorro, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Socorro in the 24 hours to 8:16 pm MST (03:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 298 km (185 mi) SE, at 4:55 pm MDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Socorro

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Socorro, NM, at 9:45 am MDT on 27 September 2026 (15:45 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 15 km E of Socorro, New Mexico

9:45 am MDT, Sep 27, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Socorro County 22 kmValencia County 73 kmTorrance County 94 kmBernalillo County 110 kmSierra County 114 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
9:45 am MDT on 27 September 2026 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) east of Socorro, NM · earthquakes near Socorro
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Socorro County, 22 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 45 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 Socorro, 16 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.

Likely felt in: Socorro 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 34.0659, -106.7188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Socorro County, NM 22 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Socorro County
Valencia County, NM 73 km (45 mi) N earthquakes near Valencia County
Torrance County, NM 94 km (58 mi) NE earthquakes near Torrance County
Bernalillo County, NM 110 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Bernalillo County
Sierra County, NM 114 km (71 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Lincoln County, NM 123 km (76 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lincoln 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.