Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Questa, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Questa in the 24 hours to 2:20 pm MST (21:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 68 km (42 mi) NE, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Questa
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Questa, NM, at 10:30 pm MDT on 26 September 2024 (04:30 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 31 km N of Ute Park, New Mexico
- When
- 10:30 pm MDT on 26 September 2024 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Questa, NM · earthquakes near Questa
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Colfax County, 47 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 705 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Questa, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Questa, NM. 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Questa, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 in our catalogue was M 4.3 on 2023-03-10 — about 16,000 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 36.8399, -105.0794. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax County, NM | 47 km (29 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Colfax County |
| Costilla County, CO | 58 km (36 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Costilla County |
| Taos County, NM | 58 km (36 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Taos County |
| Huerfano County, CO | 95 km (59 mi) | N | earthquakes near Huerfano County |
| Mora County, NM | 96 km (60 mi) | S | earthquakes near Mora County |
| Alamosa County, CO | 102 km (64 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alamosa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 30 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 23 km NW of Maxwell, New Mexico
- 2.2 25 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.7 19 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 20 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.2 19 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.0 17 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.6 32 km S of Segundo, Colorado
- 3.4 16 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.7 28 km SSW of Segundo, Colorado
- 1.9 15 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.0 32 km WSW of Raton, New Mexico
- 2.7 30 km WSW of Raton, New Mexico
- 1.5 20 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 33 km WSW of Raton, 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
- 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.