Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9mb_lg
Earthquake near Carlsbad, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Carlsbad in the 24 hours to 7:47 am MST (14:47 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Carlsbad, NM, at 1:23 pm MDT on 20 September 2026 (19:23 UTC), 7.6 km deep.
USGS: 29 km ENE of Malaga, New Mexico
- When
- 1:23 pm MDT on 20 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 46 km (28 mi) east-southeast of Carlsbad, NM · earthquakes near Carlsbad
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 7.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loving County, 52 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 52 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Carlsbad, NM
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Carlsbad, NM. No account or email needed.
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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Carlsbad, 46 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: Loving 31 km, intensity III · Carlsbad 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 2021-07-19 — about 45 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 32.2823, -103.7703. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving County, TX | 52 km (33 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Eddy County, NM | 54 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Lea County, NM | 66 km (41 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Winkler County, TX | 84 km (52 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Ward County, TX | 106 km (66 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ward County |
| Andrews County, TX | 106 km (66 mi) | E | earthquakes near Andrews County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
30 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 29 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 2.0 37 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.1 41 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.6 34 km NW of Mentone, Texas
- 0.9 34 km NW of Mentone, Texas
- 0.9 33 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.4 31 km NW of Mentone, Texas
- 1.2 37 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
- 0.9 33 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.5 33 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.2 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.6 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 1.5 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 0.9 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- 0.8 35 km SE of Malaga, 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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| location | 29 km E of Malaga, New Mexico | 29 km ENE of Malaga, New Mexico | |
| longitude | -103.76 | -103.77 | |
| latitude | 32.27 | 32.28 | |
| depth | 6.39 | 7.6 |
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.