QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Raton, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Raton in the 24 hours to 2:59 am MST (09:59 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) west of Raton, NM, at 7:32 am MDT on 1 September 2019 (13:32 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 28 km SSW of Sequndo, Colorado

7:32 am MDT, Sep 1, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Colfax County 31 kmCostilla County 73 kmTaos County 82 kmLas Animas County 83 kmHuerfano County 93 kmMora County 99 kmAlamosa County 118 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
7:32 am MDT on 1 September 2019 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) west of Raton, NM · earthquakes near Raton
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Colfax County, 31 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2553 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 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Raton, 32 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: Raton 32 km, intensity II · Trinidad 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-12-23 — about 180 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.3 6 km S of Valdez, Colorado · 23 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 20 km S of Weston, Colorado · 10 km NNW of this epicentre

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 36.8666, -104.7919. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Colfax County, NM 31 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Colfax County
Costilla County, CO 73 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Costilla County
Taos County, NM 82 km (51 mi) WSW earthquakes near Taos County
Las Animas County, CO 83 km (52 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Animas County
Huerfano County, CO 93 km (57 mi) N earthquakes near Huerfano County
Mora County, NM 99 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Mora County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 New Mexico
  2. 1.5 16 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  3. 2.1 4 km WSW of El Moro, Colorado
  4. 1.6 7 km WNW of El Moro, Colorado
  5. 1.6 7 km WNW of El Moro, Colorado
  6. 2.2 10 km WNW of El Moro, Colorado
  7. 2.7 24 km S of Weston, Colorado
  8. 1.8 16 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  9. 2.0 15 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  10. 1.6 16 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  11. 2.7 16 km S of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  12. 1.7 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  13. 1.9 16 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
  14. 1.8 14 km SW of Weston, Colorado
  15. 1.5 11 km SSE 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.