M2.7 earthquake 26 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States
A magnitude 2.7 earthquake struck 26 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States at 21:41 local time (03:41 UTC) on 4 Sept 2026, at a depth of 5 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-26 21:22 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 2.7micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 5 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-05 03:41:56 UTC
- Local: 4 Sept 2026, 21:41:56 (America/Denver)
- Epicentre
- 32.352° N, 104.500° 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 | 26 km | INot felt |
| ArtesiaNew Mexico, United States · pop. 12,036 | 55 km | INot felt |
| RoswellNew Mexico, United States · pop. 48,544 | 115 km | INot felt |
| HobbsNew Mexico, United States · pop. 38,416 | 133 km | INot felt |
| AlamogordoNew Mexico, United States · pop. 30,753 | 150 km | INot felt |
| Ciudad JuárezChihuahua, Mexico · pop. 1,512,450 | 198 km | INot felt |
| El PasoTexas, United States · pop. 678,815 | 199 km | INot felt |
| AlbuquerqueNew Mexico, United States · pop. 564,559 | 363 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 11 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 | 2.7 ml | 5 km | 32.35° N, 104.50° W | – | Reviewed |
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How big was it?
Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.
It released roughly the energy of 169 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.
M2.7 releases about 32× the energy of M1.7, and its waves are about 10× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 169 kg of TNT vs 5 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M1.7. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
3 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M3.4 4 days ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M2.7
3 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 108.31 | 2.5 | 4 |
| 436.85 | 2.8 | 8 |
| 470.24 | 3.4 | 3 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id us7000tegw. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:12 UTC. Solutions: USGS (usgs:us7000tegw). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M2.7 earthquake 26 km WSW of Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/us7000tegw-m2-7-earthquake-26-km-wsw-of-carlsbad-new-mexico-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/us7000tegw. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.