All earthquakesNew Mexico

New Mexico earthquakes in 1938

6 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were located in New Mexico in 1938. The largest: M4.9 34 km E of Pleasanton, New Mexico, Sep 17, 1938.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19371939

Map

Where every quake of 1938 was located in New Mexico. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1938

Magnitude 2.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19380
February 19380
March 19380
April 19380
May 19380
June 19380
July 19380
August 19380
September 193834.934 km E of Pleasanton, New Mexico
October 19380
November 193834.634 km E of Pleasanton, New Mexico
December 19380

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

New Mexico nowWorldwide in 1938

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.