QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Hennessey, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Hennessey in the 24 hours to 10:10 am CST (16:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 57 km (35 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hennessey

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west of Hennessey, OK, at 1:44 pm CST on 16 January 2021 (19:44 UTC), 6.7 km deep.

USGS: 11 km W of Hennessey, Oklahoma

86 km (53 mi) NNW of Oklahoma City, OK · 36 km (22 mi) SSW of Enid, OK

1:44 pm CST, Jan 16, 2021 · · 6.7 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kingfisher County 20 kmGarfield County 37 kmBlaine County 44 kmMajor County 51 kmLogan County 57 kmCanadian County 64 kmAlfalfa County 73 kmNoble County 77 kmGrant County 78 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
1:44 pm CST on 16 January 2021 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) west of Hennessey, OK · earthquakes near Hennessey
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
6.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kingfisher County, 20 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2122 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Hennessey, 12 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: Hennessey 12 km, intensity II · Okeene 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 4.6 on 2018-04-09 — about 5,400 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 36.1132, -98.0310. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kingfisher County, OK 20 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Kingfisher County
Garfield County, OK 37 km (23 mi) NE earthquakes near Garfield County
Blaine County, OK 44 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near Blaine County
Major County, OK 51 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Major County
Logan County, OK 57 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Logan County
Canadian County, OK 64 km (39 mi) S earthquakes near Canadian County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.7 3 km SE of Meno, Oklahoma
  2. 1.9 3 km SE of Meno, Oklahoma
  3. 1.6 14 km SSW of Loyal, Oklahoma
  4. 1.7 14 km SSW of Loyal, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 14 km SSW of Loyal, Oklahoma
  6. 1.7 14 km SSW of Loyal, Oklahoma
  7. 2.3 5 km E of Enid, Oklahoma
  8. 1.6 3 km SE of Meno, Oklahoma
  9. 1.7 3 km SE of Meno, Oklahoma
  10. 1.8 Oklahoma
  11. 2.0 2 km ESE of Ames, Oklahoma
  12. 1.6 2 km SE of Ames, Oklahoma
  13. 1.7 7 km SSE of Meno, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 13 km SSW of Loyal, Oklahoma
  15. 1.5 13 km SSW of Loyal, 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.