Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Trinidad, CO
No earthquake was likely felt in Trinidad in the 24 hours to 7:09 am MST (14:09 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 45 km (28 mi) WSW, at 3:34 am MST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Trinidad
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Trinidad, CO, at 7:18 pm MDT on 21 May 2026 (01:18 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- When
- 7:18 pm MDT on 21 May 2026 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Trinidad, CO · earthquakes near Trinidad
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Costilla County, 48 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 98 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Trinidad, CO
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Trinidad, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2023-03-10 — about 11,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.3 6 km S of Valdez, Colorado · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.0 20 km S of Weston, Colorado · 16 km ESE of this epicentre
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 37.0143, -104.9975. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costilla County, CO | 48 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Costilla County |
| Colfax County, NM | 55 km (34 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Colfax County |
| Huerfano County, CO | 75 km (47 mi) | N | earthquakes near Huerfano County |
| Taos County, NM | 75 km (47 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Taos County |
| Las Animas County, CO | 91 km (57 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Las Animas County |
| Alamosa County, CO | 93 km (58 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Alamosa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.4 8 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.1 14 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 2.6 10 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 3.7 17 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 2.6 25 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 2.4 16 km SSW of Weston, Colorado
- 1.7 33 km NNE of Cimarron, New Mexico
- 2.4 21 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.6 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.8 18 km NNE of Ute Park, New Mexico
- 2.6 15 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 3.4 31 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.7 12 km SSE of Stonewall Gap, Colorado
- 1.8 11 km S of Weston, Colorado
- 1.5 9 km SE of Starkville, Colorado
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.