Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
Yes. A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM, at 4:39 pm MDT on 13 October 2026 (22:39 UTC), 10 km deep. 29 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 23 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
- When
- 4:39 pm MDT on 13 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) WSW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- 29 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 18 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 hours ago
Earthquake alerts for Carlsbad, NM
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 338 km (210 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlsbad, 24 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Carlsbad 24 km, intensity III · La Huerta 25 km, intensity III · Loving 37 km, intensity III · Atoka 45 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× more
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 16 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 32.3762, -104.4780. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 18 km (11 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Culberson County, TX | 104 km (64 mi) | S | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Loving County, TX | 105 km (65 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Chaves County, NM | 110 km (68 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chaves County |
| Lea County, NM | 110 km (68 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Otero County, NM | 122 km (76 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Otero 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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| felt reports | 28 | 29 | |
| measured intensity | not reported | 3.82 | |
| location | 23 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico | 23 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico | |
| longitude | -104.47 | -104.48 | |
| latitude | 32.37 | 32.38 | |
| magnitude | 3.7 | 3.6 | |
| felt reports | 27 | 28 | |
| felt reports | 26 | 27 | |
| felt reports | 25 | 26 | |
| felt reports | 24 | 25 | |
| felt reports | 23 | 24 | |
| reported intensity | 3 | 3.1 |
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.