QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM

USGS: 30 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico

6:38 pm MST, Mar 5, 2026 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Carlsbad Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 24 kmChaves County 103 kmCulberson County 110 kmOtero County 114 kmLoving County 114 kmLea County 114 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
6:38 pm MST on 5 March 2026 ()
Where
31 km (19 mi) W of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eddy County, 24 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 133 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 31 km (19 mi) W of Carlsbad, NM, at 6:38 pm MST on 5 March 2026 (01:38 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 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.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2024-02-23 — about 130 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 32.4342, -104.5561. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 24 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Eddy County
Chaves County, NM 103 km (64 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County
Culberson County, TX 110 km (68 mi) S earthquakes near Culberson County
Otero County, NM 114 km (71 mi) W earthquakes near Otero County
Loving County, TX 114 km (71 mi) SE earthquakes near Loving County
Lea County, NM 114 km (71 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lea County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  2. 2.8 13 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  3. 2.5 19 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  4. 2.7 22 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  5. 2.9 5 km SSE of Livingston Wheeler, New Mexico
  6. 3.1 25 km WNW of La Huerta, New Mexico
  7. 2.5 26 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  8. 2.6 24 km SSW of Atoka, New Mexico
  9. 2.9 27 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  10. 2.6 28 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
  11. 3.4 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  12. 2.6 28 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  13. 3.1 27 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  14. 2.9 25 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  15. 2.3 6 km ESE of Livingston Wheeler, 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.