Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Carlsbad in the 24 hours to 5:31 am MST (12:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 32 km (20 mi) SW, at 4:44 am MST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Carlsbad
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Carlsbad, NM, at 3:36 am MST on 1 January 2026 (10:36 UTC), 9.0 km deep.
USGS: 16 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- When
- 3:36 am MST on 1 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 23 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 218 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carlsbad, NM
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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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlsbad, 25 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Carlsbad 25 km, intensity III · Loving 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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 32.3016, -104.4596. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 23 km (14 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Culberson County, TX | 95 km (59 mi) | S | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Loving County, TX | 99 km (61 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Lea County, NM | 112 km (70 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Chaves County, NM | 118 km (73 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chaves County |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 128 km (80 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hudspeth County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 14 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.7 21 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.5 22 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
- 2.5 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.6 18 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.1 21 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.6 23 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
- 2.9 31 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.4 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.8 13 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.5 19 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.7 22 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.9 5 km SSE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
- 3.1 25 km WNW of La Huerta, New Mexico
- 2.5 26 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.