QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Pocahontas, AR

USGS: 6 km ENE of Maynard, Arkansas

6:18 pm CDT, Oct 5, 2020 · · 8.2 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Randolph County 20 kmRipley County 25 kmClay County 37 kmGreene County 42 kmButler County 50 kmLawrence County 50 kmCarter County 58 kmOregon County 58 kmSharp County 64 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
6:18 pm CDT on 5 October 2020 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) NE of Pocahontas, AR · earthquakes near Pocahontas
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
8.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Randolph County, 20 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Western Lowlands liquefaction features, 8 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2120 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) NE of Pocahontas, AR, at 6:18 pm CDT on 5 October 2020 (23:18 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Doniphan, Corning.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 36.4307, -90.8302. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Randolph County, AR 20 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Randolph County
Ripley County, MO 25 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Ripley County
Clay County, AR 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Clay County
Greene County, AR 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Greene County
Butler County, MO 50 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Butler County
Lawrence County, AR 50 km (31 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lawrence County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 3 km ESE of Ravenden, Arkansas
  2. 1.8 Missouri-Arkansas border region
  3. 2.2 4 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  4. 2.1 5 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  5. 2.1 6 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  6. 1.6 4 km NE of Black Rock, Arkansas
  7. 1.8 5 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  8. 1.5 5 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  9. 2.2 6 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  10. 1.7 2 km W of Powhatan, Arkansas
  11. 2.2 6 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
  12. 1.8 6 km N of Black Rock, Arkansas
  13. 2.2 10 km W of Maynard, Arkansas
  14. 2.0 6 km NE of Ravenden Springs, Arkansas
  15. 2.0 6 km NNW of Black Rock, Arkansas

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.