M3.6 earthquake 24 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake struck 24 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States at 16:39 local time (22:39 UTC) on 13 Oct 2026, at a depth of 10 km, according to USGS.
revised from M3.7 · 28 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-14 00:49 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 3.6minor
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
revised from 3.7 - Depth
- 10 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-13 22:39:00 UTC
- Local: 13 Oct 2026, 16:39:00 (America/Denver)
- Epicentre
- 32.376° N, 104.478° 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 | 24 km | IIIWeak |
| ArtesiaNew Mexico, United States · pop. 12,036 | 52 km | IIWeak |
| RoswellNew Mexico, United States · pop. 48,544 | 113 km | INot felt |
| HobbsNew Mexico, United States · pop. 38,416 | 130 km | INot felt |
| Ciudad JuárezChihuahua, Mexico · pop. 1,512,450 | 201 km | INot felt |
| El PasoTexas, United States · pop. 678,815 | 202 km | INot felt |
| AlbuquerqueNew Mexico, United States · pop. 564,559 | 362 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 27 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, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGSheadlineUSGS NEIC via U.S. Geological Survey | 3.6 mlwas 3.7 | 10 km | 32.38° N, 104.48° W | – | Reviewed · 1 revision |
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How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 3.8 t 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 10 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M3.6 releases about 32× the energy of M2.6, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 3.8 t of TNT vs 120 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.6. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Event id us6000u25y. First recorded here 13 Oct 2026, 22:53:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us6000u25y). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.6 earthquake 24 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us6000u25y-m3-6-earthquake-24-km-wsw-of-carlsbad-new-mexico-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/us6000u25y. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.