QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Carlsbad in the 24 hours to 7:13 am MST (14:13 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Carlsbad, NM, at 3:57 pm MDT on 1 June 2026 (21:57 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 26 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico

3:57 pm MDT, Jun 1, 2026 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Eddy County 34 kmChaves County 87 kmOtero County 105 kmLea County 116 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
3:57 pm MDT on 1 June 2026 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) west-northwest of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Eddy County, 34 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 92 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlsbad, 42 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.

Likely felt in: Atoka 30 km, intensity II · Artesia 35 km, intensity II · Carlsbad 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4.4 on 2026-04-06 — about 710 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 32.5901, -104.6304. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Eddy County, NM 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Eddy County
Chaves County, NM 87 km (54 mi) N earthquakes near Chaves County
Otero County, NM 105 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Otero County
Lea County, NM 116 km (72 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lea County
Loving County, TX 130 km (81 mi) SE earthquakes near Loving County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 14 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  2. 2.7 21 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  3. 2.5 22 km W of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  4. 2.5 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  5. 3.6 18 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  6. 3.1 21 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  7. 3.6 23 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico
  8. 2.9 31 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  9. 3.4 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
  10. 2.8 13 km WNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  11. 2.5 19 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
  12. 2.7 22 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
  13. 3.1 25 km WNW of La Huerta, 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.