The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 0 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 9 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Big Lake, the biggest of them M2.4. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Big Lake came at 6.4× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area.
How we figure this: 7 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 03, 2025 – Nov 03, 2026), compared with an average of 1.1 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Big Lake, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Big Lake are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Big Lake
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2.4 | 10 km S of Midland, Texas | Nov 03, 2026, 09:37 AM | 7 km | 98 km NW |
| M1.6 | 19 km NW of Sterling City, Texas | Nov 01, 2026, 06:33 PM | 4 km | 90 km NNE |
| M2.0 | 25 km SW of Garden City, Texas | Oct 26, 2026, 05:30 PM | 7 km | 62 km NNW |
| M2.0 | 25 km SW of Garden City, Texas | Oct 23, 2026, 06:51 PM | 7 km | 63 km NNW |
| M1.3 | 12 km E of Garden City, Texas | Oct 23, 2026, 07:25 AM | 9 km | 77 km N |
| M0.4 | 9 km SSE of Midland, Texas | Oct 22, 2026, 02:04 PM | 5 km | 98 km NW |
| M0.8 | 19 km SE of Midland, Texas | Oct 20, 2026, 07:16 AM | 7 km | 88 km NNW |
| M1.9 | 11 km S of Forsan, Texas | Oct 18, 2026, 08:08 AM | 9 km | 91 km N |
| M1.8 | 24 km S of Stanton, Texas | Oct 18, 2026, 07:02 AM | 8 km | 85 km NNW |
| M1.8 | 25 km SW of Garden City, Texas | Oct 16, 2026, 07:28 PM | 8 km | 63 km NNW |
Earthquakes per year near Big Lake (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Big Lake
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 150 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
Biggest earthquakes on record near Big Lake (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| No M4.0+ events in the catalog within 100 km since 1980. | |||
Nearby places
Rankin, TX (46 km) · Iraan, TX (52 km) · Mertzon, TX (62 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 03, 2026, 18:45 UTC · page built Nov 03, 2026, 18:45 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.