QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Socorro, NM

USGS: 3 km NE of Socorro, New Mexico

9:58 pm MST, Dec 10, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Socorro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Socorro County 12 kmValencia County 71 kmTorrance County 103 kmBernalillo County 110 kmSierra County 111 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
9:58 pm MST on 10 December 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) NE of Socorro, NM · earthquakes near Socorro
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Socorro County, 12 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
La Jencia fault, 21 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2050 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) NE of Socorro, NM, at 9:58 pm MST on 10 December 2020 (04:58 UTC). 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 34.0797, -106.8592. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Socorro County, NM 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Socorro County
Valencia County, NM 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Valencia County
Torrance County, NM 103 km (64 mi) ENE earthquakes near Torrance County
Bernalillo County, NM 110 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Bernalillo County
Sierra County, NM 111 km (69 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sierra County
Cibola County, NM 140 km (87 mi) NW earthquakes near Cibola County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 15 km E of Socorro, New Mexico
  2. 2.7 2 km NNW of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  3. 3.2 16 km ESE of Magdalena, New Mexico
  4. 2.5 13 km W of Socorro, New Mexico
  5. 2.6 10 km W of Socorro, New Mexico
  6. 3.6 4 km WNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  7. 2.6 4 km WNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  8. 3.2 6 km NW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  9. 2.9 3 km NNE of Abeytas, New Mexico
  10. 3.6 2 km WNW of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  11. 3.9 7 km NNW of Abeytas, New Mexico
  12. 2.7 11 km ESE of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  13. 3.1 5 km ESE of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  14. 2.8 1 km E of Las Nutrias, New Mexico
  15. 3.3 2 km SSE of Las Nutrias, 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

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