Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Walnut Ridge, AR
No earthquake was likely felt in Walnut Ridge in the 24 hours to 3:14 am CST (09:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 102 km (63 mi) E, at 12:59 pm CDT on 23 April 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 913 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Walnut Ridge
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Walnut Ridge, AR, at 4:34 am CST on 18 December 2021 (10:34 UTC), 3.5 km deep.
USGS: 5 km WNW of Powhatan, Arkansas
54 km (34 mi) NW of Jonesboro, AR
- When
- 4:34 am CST on 18 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Walnut Ridge, AR · earthquakes near Walnut Ridge
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 3.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lawrence County, 9 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Western Lowlands liquefaction features, 22 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 1789 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Walnut Ridge, AR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Walnut Ridge, AR. 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Walnut Ridge, 20 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: Hoxie, Pocahontas.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 36.1037, -91.1713. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence County, AR | 9 km (6 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lawrence County |
| Sharp County, AR | 28 km (17 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Sharp County |
| Randolph County, AR | 29 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Randolph County |
| Independence County, AR | 54 km (33 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Independence County |
| Greene County, AR | 54 km (34 mi) | E | earthquakes near Greene County |
| Jackson County, AR | 57 km (35 mi) | S | earthquakes near Jackson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 9 km NE of Grubbs, Arkansas
- 2.3 5 km SE of Imboden, Arkansas
- 2.0 6 km N of Black Rock, Arkansas
- 2.1 8 km NE of Smithville, Arkansas
- 2.0 4 km NNW of Minturn, Arkansas
- 1.9 12 km WNW of Smithville, Arkansas
- 1.8 2 km SW of Ravenden, Arkansas
- 2.0 5 km N of Black Rock, Arkansas
- 2.2 5 km SSW of Strawberry, Arkansas
- 1.7 3 km N of Black Rock, Arkansas
- 2.2 3 km ESE of Strawberry, Arkansas
- 1.7 4 km SSW of Strawberry, Arkansas
- 1.7 Arkansas
- 1.5 5 km SE of Strawberry, Arkansas
- 1.7 4 km SE of Strawberry, 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
- 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.