QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4mb_lg

Earthquake near Lovington, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Lovington in the 24 hours to 3:28 am MST (10:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 162 km (101 mi) SSW, at 3:27 pm MDT on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Lovington

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Lovington, NM, at 2:36 am MDT on 3 July 2020 (08:36 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 23 km SSW of Lovington, New Mexico

2:36 am MDT, Jul 3, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lea County 6 kmYoakum County 74 kmGaines County 78 kmEddy County 86 kmAndrews County 92 kmLoving County 102 kmWinkler County 110 kmCochran County 111 kmTerry 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
2:36 am MDT on 3 July 2020 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) south-southwest of Lovington, NM · earthquakes near Lovington
Magnitude
M 2.4 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lea County, 6 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2252 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Lovington, 23 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: Lovington 23 km, intensity II · Hobbs 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 32.7618, -103.4673. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lea County, NM 6 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Lea County
Yoakum County, TX 74 km (46 mi) NE earthquakes near Yoakum County
Gaines County, TX 78 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Gaines County
Eddy County, NM 86 km (53 mi) WSW earthquakes near Eddy County
Andrews County, TX 92 km (57 mi) ESE earthquakes near Andrews County
Loving County, TX 102 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near Loving County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 23 km SSW of Lovington, New Mexico
  2. 2.7 20 km SW of Lovington, New Mexico
  3. 3.0 22 km SSW of Lovington, New Mexico
  4. 3.3 23 km SSW of Lovington, New Mexico
  5. 2.3 15 km W of Eunice, New Mexico
  6. 2.5 20 km SW of Monument, New Mexico
  7. 2.7 24 km WSW of Eunice, New Mexico
  8. 2.9 26 km SW of Monument, New Mexico
  9. 3.2 38 km SW of Monument, New Mexico

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.