QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Caldwell, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Caldwell in the 24 hours to 8:48 am CST (14:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 163 km (101 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Caldwell

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Caldwell, KS, at 12:16 am CDT on 10 April 2017 (05:16 UTC), 5.4 km deep.

USGS: 11 km NNW of Caldwell, Kansas

68 km (42 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS

12:16 am CDT, Apr 10, 2017 · · 5.4 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 18 kmHarper County 37 kmGrant County 40 kmKay County 57 kmSedgwick County 63 kmKingman County 64 kmCowley County 73 kmAlfalfa County 74 kmGarfield County 85 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
12:16 am CDT on 10 April 2017 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Caldwell, KS · earthquakes near Caldwell
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sumner County, 18 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3502 days ago

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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Caldwell, 12 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: Conway Springs, Wellington.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2017-03-29 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.

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 37.1307, -97.6525. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Sumner County
Harper County, KS 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Harper County
Grant County, OK 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Grant County
Kay County, OK 57 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Kay County
Sedgwick County, KS 63 km (39 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Kingman County, KS 64 km (40 mi) NW earthquakes near Kingman County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 8 km NNE of Nardin, Oklahoma
  2. 3.0 10 km SSE of Waldron, Kansas
  3. 3.3 10 km SSE of Waldron, Kansas
  4. 1.8 9 km W of Bluff City, Kansas
  5. 3.0 10 km SSE of Waldron, Kansas
  6. 1.6 9 km W of Bluff City, Kansas
  7. 2.2 11 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
  8. 3.7 3 km NNW of Freeport, Kansas
  9. 1.5 9 km W of Bluff City, Kansas
  10. 1.6 9 km W of Bluff City, Kansas
  11. 2.8 10 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  12. 2.2 2 km SE of Bluff City, Kansas
  13. 2.6 10 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  14. 2.3 4 km SE of Freeport, Kansas
  15. 2.7 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.