Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
USGS: 31 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- When
- 8:09 am MDT on 4 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) WNW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 32 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1 hour ago
A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) WNW of Carlsbad, NM, at 8:09 am MDT on 4 October 2026 (14:09 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 4.4 on 2026-04-06 — about 180 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 32.5442, -104.6295. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 32 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Chaves County, NM | 92 km (57 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chaves County |
| Otero County, NM | 105 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near Otero County |
| Lea County, NM | 117 km (73 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Loving County, TX | 127 km (79 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Loving 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.