Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Clifton, AZ
No earthquake was likely felt in Clifton in the 24 hours to 9:49 am MST (16:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, in Clifton, at 7:17 pm MST on 4 August 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Clifton
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) south-southeast of Clifton, AZ, at 8:39 pm MST on 26 February 2021 (03:39 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 14 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km SE of York, Arizona
- When
- 8:39 pm MST on 26 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) south-southeast of Clifton, AZ · earthquakes near Clifton
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 14 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Greenlee County, 47 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2008 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Clifton, AZ
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Clifton, AZ. No account or email needed.
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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Clifton, 29 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 13 km SW of Franklin, Arizona · 27 km S 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 32.8241, -109.1356. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenlee County, AZ | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Greenlee County |
| Graham County, AZ | 70 km (44 mi) | W | earthquakes near Graham County |
| Grant County, NM | 71 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Hidalgo County, NM | 109 km (68 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hidalgo County |
| Cochise County, AZ | 125 km (78 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cochise County |
| Catron County, NM | 138 km (86 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Catron County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
12 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 0 km NE of Clifton, Arizona
- 2.6 9 km N of San Jose, Arizona
- 2.9 10 km S of Franklin, Arizona
- 2.5 1 km SSE of Franklin, Arizona
- 3.3 3 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona
- 2.8 4 km SSW of Duncan, Arizona
- 2.7 3 km NNE of Franklin, Arizona
- 3.0 11 km S of Virden, New Mexico
- 3.1 15 km S of Virden, New Mexico
- 2.8 Arizona
- 2.6 2 km NNE of Morenci, Arizona
- 2.7 6 km WSW of Franklin, Arizona
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.