Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Caldwell, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Caldwell in the 24 hours to 8:45 am CST (14:45 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 163 km (101 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 Caldwell
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Caldwell, KS, at 7:04 am CDT on 16 September 2021 (12:04 UTC), 5.8 km deep.
USGS: 2 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
88 km (55 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 7:04 am CDT on 16 September 2021 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Caldwell, KS · earthquakes near Caldwell
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Grant County, 20 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1882 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Caldwell, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Caldwell, KS. 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Caldwell, 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 15,000 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 36.9413, -97.6798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, OK | 20 km (12 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Sumner County, KS | 37 km (23 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Harper County, KS | 44 km (27 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Kay County, OK | 50 km (31 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 62 km (38 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Alfalfa County |
| Garfield County, OK | 63 km (39 mi) | S | earthquakes near Garfield County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 4.5 7 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
- 1.6 6 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
- 1.8 3 km S of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 2.7 10 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.0 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
- 1.6 10 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.9 8 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
- 1.6 2 km NNW of Hunter, Oklahoma
- 1.6 12 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
- 2.5 5 km NE of Argonia, Kansas
- 2.1 8 km NNE of Argonia, Kansas
- 2.5 6 km NNE of Argonia, Kansas
- 2.1 11 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
- 1.6 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
- 2.1 3 km SE of Hunnewell, 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.