QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2ml

Earthquake near McAlester, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in McAlester in the 24 hours to 7:10 am CST (13:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 220 km (136 mi) WNW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near McAlester

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of McAlester, OK, at 2:27 pm CDT on 23 July 2021 (19:27 UTC), 3.3 km deep.

USGS: 7 km S of Stuart, Oklahoma

2:27 pm CDT, Jul 23, 2021 · · 3.3 km deep · released about 52 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hughes County 28 kmCoal County 33 kmPittsburg County 33 kmAtoka County 50 kmPontotoc County 56 kmSeminole County 58 kmMcIntosh County 71 kmOkfuskee County 73 kmLatimer 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
2:27 pm CDT on 23 July 2021 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) west-southwest of McAlester, OK · earthquakes near McAlester
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.2 (ml)
Depth
3.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hughes County, 28 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1866 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In McAlester, 32 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 34.8353, -96.0972. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hughes County, OK 28 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hughes County
Coal County, OK 33 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Coal County
Pittsburg County, OK 33 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Pittsburg County
Atoka County, OK 50 km (31 mi) S earthquakes near Atoka County
Pontotoc County, OK 56 km (35 mi) WSW earthquakes near Pontotoc County
Seminole County, OK 58 km (36 mi) NW earthquakes near Seminole County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 4 km SE of Dustin, Oklahoma
  2. 1.6 6 km NE of Lamar, Oklahoma
  3. 1.6 4 km ENE of Lamar, Oklahoma
  4. 1.8 14 km NNE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 14 km NNE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  6. 1.6 5 km NNE of Sasakwa, Oklahoma
  7. 1.7 12 km NNE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  8. 1.9 11 km E of Lamar, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 6 km S of Yeager, Oklahoma
  10. 1.6 6 km S of Yeager, Oklahoma
  11. 1.6 7 km ESE of Arpelar, Oklahoma
  12. 1.8 6 km SSE of Yeager, Oklahoma
  13. 1.5 8 km NNE of Stonewall, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 5 km SSE of Yeager, Oklahoma
  15. 3.1 6 km SSE of Yeager, 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.