Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
USGS: 12 km W of Whites City, New Mexico
- When
- 3:52 pm MST on 5 December 2024 ()
- Where
- 36 km (22 mi) SW of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 35 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 594 days ago
A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) SW of Carlsbad, NM, at 3:52 pm MST on 5 December 2024 (22:52 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
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
The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2024-02-23 — about 63 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 32.1963, -104.5066. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 35 km (22 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Culberson County, TX | 83 km (52 mi) | S | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Loving County, TX | 97 km (60 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 117 km (73 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hudspeth County |
| Lea County, NM | 122 km (76 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Reeves County, TX | 124 km (77 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Reeves County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
24 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.5 24 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.4 30 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.5 23 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.8 38 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.5 12 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.6 31 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.0 46 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.8 7 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
- 3.0 7 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
- 2.5 18 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.5 19 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 1.5 46 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.5 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.7 33 km SSE of Hope, 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.