Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Blackwell, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Blackwell in the 24 hours to 10:56 am CST (16:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 149 km (93 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Blackwell
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Blackwell, OK, at 11:42 am CDT on 27 September 2020 (16:42 UTC), 5.8 km deep.
USGS: 11 km SW of Hunnewell, Kansas
87 km (54 mi) S of Wichita, KS
- When
- 11:42 am CDT on 27 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Blackwell, OK · earthquakes near Blackwell
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Grant County, 31 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2235 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blackwell, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Blackwell, OK. 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Blackwell, 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Caldwell.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.7 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 4.4 on 2019-05-17 — about 14,000 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 36.9180, -97.4832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, OK | 31 km (19 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Kay County, OK | 32 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Sumner County, KS | 35 km (22 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Harper County, KS | 60 km (37 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Noble County, OK | 63 km (39 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Noble County |
| Garfield County, OK | 66 km (41 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Garfield 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.
- 1.7 9 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.5 2 km S of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 2.1 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 1.9 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 1.5 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 1.6 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 2.4 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 1.7 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 2.6 7 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.1 9 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.4 9 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.7 7 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 9 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.7 10 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.4 7 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
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.