QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Oklahoma

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Oklahoma, at 8:01 pm CST on 19 December 2020 (02:01 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

· 7.0 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Coal County 24 kmHughes County 28 kmPontotoc County 42 kmPittsburg County 47 kmAtoka County 49 kmSeminole County 52 kmJohnston County 66 kmOkfuskee County 75 kmPottawatomie County 80 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
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Coal County, 24 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2151 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. 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: Coalgate.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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 7.1 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 34.7973, -96.2410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Coal County, OK 24 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Coal County
Hughes County, OK 28 km (18 mi) N earthquakes near Hughes County
Pontotoc County, OK 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Pontotoc County
Pittsburg County, OK 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Pittsburg County
Atoka County, OK 49 km (30 mi) SSE earthquakes near Atoka County
Seminole County, OK 52 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Seminole County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 5 km NNE of Sasakwa, Oklahoma
  2. 1.7 12 km NNE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  3. 1.9 11 km E of Lamar, Oklahoma
  4. 1.6 6 km SW of Ada, Oklahoma
  5. 1.6 6 km S of Yeager, Oklahoma
  6. 1.6 6 km S of Yeager, Oklahoma
  7. 1.6 7 km ESE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  8. 1.8 6 km SSE of Yeager, Oklahoma
  9. 1.5 8 km NNE of Stonewall, Oklahoma
  10. 1.7 5 km SSE of Yeager, Oklahoma
  11. 3.1 6 km SSE of Yeager, Oklahoma
  12. 1.5 9 km ESE of Ada, Oklahoma
  13. 2.5 5 km NNW of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  14. 1.9 6 km SW of Ada, Oklahoma
  15. 2.1 5 km WNW of Horntown, 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.