QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Grants, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Grants in the 24 hours to 5:12 am MST (12:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 27 km (17 mi) ENE, at 4:19 am MDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 39 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Grants

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Grants, NM, at 4:59 am MDT on 8 May 2025 (10:59 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 44 km SSW of San Rafael, New Mexico

4:59 am MDT, May 8, 2025 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cibola County 23 kmMcKinley County 98 kmCatron County 98 kmValencia 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
4:59 am MDT on 8 May 2025 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Grants, NM · earthquakes near Grants
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cibola County, 23 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Cebollita Mesa fault, 4 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 475 days ago

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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Grants, 49 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 34.7261, -108.0260. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cibola County, NM 23 km (14 mi) N earthquakes near Cibola County
McKinley County, NM 98 km (61 mi) NNW earthquakes near McKinley County
Catron County, NM 98 km (61 mi) SSW earthquakes near Catron County
Valencia County, NM 111 km (69 mi) E earthquakes near Valencia County
Socorro County, NM 129 km (80 mi) SE earthquakes near Socorro County
Sandoval County, NM 149 km (92 mi) NE earthquakes near Sandoval County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 19 km ENE of Pie Town, New Mexico
  2. 2.7 44 km N of Pie Town, 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.