M3.0 earthquake 85 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States
A magnitude 3.0 earthquake struck 85 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States at 20:25 local time (02:25 UTC) on 24 Sept 2026, at a depth of 5 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-25 02:40 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 3.0minor
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 4.6 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-25 02:25:11 UTC
- Local: 24 Sept 2026, 20:25:11 (America/Denver)
- Epicentre
- 31.697° N, 104.536° W
Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| CarlsbadNew Mexico, United States · pop. 28,957 | 85 km | INot felt |
| PecosTexas, United States · pop. 9,517 | 104 km | INot felt |
| Ciudad JuárezChihuahua, Mexico · pop. 1,512,450 | 182 km | INot felt |
| El PasoTexas, United States · pop. 678,815 | 185 km | INot felt |
| ChihuahuaMexico · pop. 925,762 | 371 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 15 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · TX, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · TXheadlineTexNet via U.S. Geological Survey | 3.0 ml | 4.6 km | 31.70° N, 104.54° W | – | Reviewed |
How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 477 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 5 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M3.0 releases about 32× the energy of M2.0, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 477 kg of TNT vs 15 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
16 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.5 21 h ago. 19 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M3.0
16 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.20 | 1.8 | 6 |
| 2.77 | 1.7 | 5 |
| 5.37 | 1.7 | 6 |
| 20.92 | 1.6 | 7 |
| 30.30 | 2.4 | 8 |
| 33.06 | 2.4 | 6 |
| 34.98 | 1.8 | 9 |
| 61.46 | 2.3 | 5 |
| 69.34 | 2.5 | 8 |
| 70.84 | 2.5 | 6 |
| 74.39 | 1.8 | 6 |
| 80.36 | 1.7 | 10 |
| 84.46 | 2.4 | 6 |
| 88.58 | 1.8 | 6 |
| 88.63 | 2.1 | 7 |
| 89.01 | 1.7 | 6 |
- 2.581 km WNW of Pecos, Texas, United States09-27 23:45
- 2.582 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 01:15
- 2.475 km WNW of Pecos, Texas, United States09-26 08:43
- 2.486 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-26 11:28
- 2.490 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 14:52
- 2.386 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-27 15:52
- 2.188 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 19:02
- 1.886 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-25 03:37
- 1.884 km S of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-26 13:23
- 1.888 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 04:48
- 1.888 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 18:59
- 1.783 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-25 05:11
- 1.787 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-25 07:47
- 1.786 km S of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 10:46
- 1.787 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-28 19:25
- 1.687 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States09-25 23:20
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id tx2026swhsch. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS · TX (usgs:tx2026swhsch). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.0 earthquake 85 km SSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/tx2026swhsch-m3-0-earthquake-85-km-ssw-of-carlsbad-new-mexico-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/tx2026swhsch. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.