QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Jonesboro, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jonesboro in the 24 hours to 8:10 pm CST (02:10 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 83 km (51 mi) ENE, at 12:59 pm CDT on 23 April 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 913 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Jonesboro

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Jonesboro, AR, at 7:02 am CDT on 16 July 2023 (12:02 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SSE of Lynn, Arkansas

53 km (33 mi) WNW of Jonesboro, AR · 150 km (93 mi) NW of Memphis, TN

7:02 am CDT, Jul 16, 2023 · · 19 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lawrence County 14 kmSharp County 31 kmIndependence County 40 kmJackson County 42 kmRandolph County 45 kmCraighead County 57 kmGreene County 62 kmIzard County 63 kmPoinsett County 67 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
7:02 am CDT on 16 July 2023 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Jonesboro, AR · earthquakes near Jonesboro
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lawrence County, 14 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1215 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Jonesboro, 50 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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, Walnut Ridge, Tuckerman, Cave City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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 7.3 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 35.9767, -91.2337. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lawrence County, AR 14 km (9 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lawrence County
Sharp County, AR 31 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Sharp County
Independence County, AR 40 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near Independence County
Jackson County, AR 42 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Jackson County
Randolph County, AR 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Randolph County
Craighead County, AR 57 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Craighead County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km NE of Strawberry, Arkansas
  2. 1.8 4 km NNW of Strawberry, Arkansas
  3. 1.6 3 km N of Strawberry, Arkansas
  4. 1.9 3 km N of Strawberry, Arkansas
  5. 2.1 5 km SSW of Strawberry, Arkansas
  6. 2.2 2 km W of Lynn, Arkansas
  7. 1.8 2 km SW of Lynn, Arkansas
  8. 1.8 2 km W of Lynn, Arkansas
  9. 1.7 3 km WNW of Lynn, Arkansas
  10. 2.1 3 km WNW of Lynn, Arkansas
  11. 2.0 4 km NW of Lynn, Arkansas
  12. 1.9 4 km NW of Lynn, Arkansas
  13. 1.5 3 km WNW of Lynn, Arkansas
  14. 1.8 2 km W of Lynn, Arkansas
  15. 2.0 3 km WNW of Lynn, 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.