Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Harper, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Harper in the 24 hours to 4:03 pm CST (22:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 186 km (116 mi) S, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Harper
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Harper, KS, at 3:27 pm CST on 3 December 2016 (21:27 UTC), 1.8 km deep.
USGS: 3 km SW of Harper, Kansas
78 km (48 mi) SW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 3:27 pm CST on 3 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Harper, KS · earthquakes near Harper
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Harper County, 9 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3610 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Harper, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Harper, KS. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Harper, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Anthony.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 37.2685, -98.0518. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper County, KS | 9 km (6 mi) | S | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Kingman County, KS | 33 km (20 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Sumner County, KS | 50 km (31 mi) | E | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Barber County, KS | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Barber County |
| Grant County, OK | 58 km (36 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 65 km (40 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Alfalfa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
- 2.1 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
- 2.1 5 km N of Harper, Kansas
- 1.8 3 km N of Freeport, Kansas
- 1.9 7 km SE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 2.0 6 km WSW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 2.0 7 km NNE of Caldwell, Kansas
- 1.9 5 km SSE of Freeport, Kansas
- 1.7 5 km ESE of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.5 9 km SW of Conway Springs, Kansas
- 1.5 2 km E of Anthony, Kansas
- 2.1 6 km ESE of Freeport, Kansas
- 1.5 11 km W of Caldwell, Kansas
- 1.8 6 km S of Harper, Kansas
- 1.8 Kansas
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.