QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9ml

Earthquake near Stillwater, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 5:09 am CST (11:09 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 105 km (65 mi) WSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Stillwater

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Stillwater, OK, at 12:11 pm CDT on 21 August 2020 (17:11 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Orlando, Oklahoma

80 km (50 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK · 20 km (12 mi) W of Stillwater, OK

12:11 pm CDT, Aug 21, 2020 · · 17 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Noble County 25 kmPayne County 30 kmLogan County 31 kmGarfield County 50 kmPawnee County 56 kmKingfisher County 62 kmLincoln County 63 kmOklahoma County 68 kmKay County 74 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
12:11 pm CDT on 21 August 2020 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.9 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Noble County, 25 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2273 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Stillwater, 22 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.

Likely felt in: Perry 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 5.8 on 2016-09-03 — about 620,000 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 36.1633, -97.2947. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Noble County, OK 25 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Noble County
Payne County, OK 30 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Payne County
Logan County, OK 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Logan County
Garfield County, OK 50 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Garfield County
Pawnee County, OK 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Pawnee County
Kingfisher County, OK 62 km (39 mi) WSW earthquakes near Kingfisher 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. 1.6 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  2. 1.7 10 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  3. 2.6 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  4. 1.7 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  5. 2.1 10 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  6. 1.8 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  7. 3.1 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  8. 1.9 9 km NNW of Perry, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  10. 3.2 3 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  11. 1.9 8 km ENE of Crescent, Oklahoma
  12. 1.6 9 km NW of Perry, Oklahoma
  13. 1.7 9 km NW of Perry, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 4 km SE of Marshall, Oklahoma
  15. 1.7 9 km NNW of Perry, 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.