QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Heber Springs, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Heber Springs in the 24 hours to 3:49 pm CST (21:49 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 209 km (130 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 Heber Springs

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Heber Springs, AR, at 5:49 am CDT on 31 August 2025 (10:49 UTC), 4.6 km deep.

USGS: 8 km SW of Heber Springs, Arkansas

83 km (51 mi) NNE of Little Rock, AR · 53 km (33 mi) NE of Conway, AR

5:49 am CDT, Aug 31, 2025 · · 4.6 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cleburne County 19 kmWhite County 37 kmFaulkner County 39 kmVan Buren County 41 kmStone County 47 kmConway County 57 kmIndependence County 59 kmSearcy County 74 kmIzard County 75 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
5:49 am CDT on 31 August 2025 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) southwest of Heber Springs, AR · earthquakes near Heber Springs
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
4.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cleburne County, 19 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 437 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Heber Springs, 8 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: Fairfield Bay.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 35.4393, -92.0985. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cleburne County, AR 19 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cleburne County
White County, AR 37 km (23 mi) ESE earthquakes near White County
Faulkner County, AR 39 km (24 mi) SSW earthquakes near Faulkner County
Van Buren County, AR 41 km (25 mi) WNW earthquakes near Van Buren County
Stone County, AR 47 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Stone County
Conway County, AR 57 km (35 mi) WSW earthquakes near Conway County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 3 km E of Enola, Arkansas
  2. 2.3 13 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  3. 2.4 5 km WSW of Southside, Arkansas
  4. 1.8 3 km NNE of Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas
  5. 2.0 11 km S of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  6. 2.3 3 km NW of Mount Vernon, Arkansas
  7. 2.2 11 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  8. 1.9 11 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  9. 2.2 12 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  10. 1.9 11 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  11. 1.9 13 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  12. 2.1 11 km SW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  13. 1.7 11 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  14. 2.1 12 km SSW of Pleasant Plains, Arkansas
  15. 2.3 12 km ENE of Pangburn, 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.