QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Shawnee, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Shawnee in the 24 hours to 3:42 pm CST (21:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 106 km (66 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 Shawnee

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) north of Shawnee, OK, at 7:32 am CST on 14 December 2021 (13:32 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 6 km W of Johnson, Oklahoma

55 km (34 mi) E of Oklahoma City, OK · 42 km (26 mi) E of Midwest City, OK

7:32 am CST, Dec 14, 2021 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pottawatomie County 21 kmLincoln County 34 kmSeminole County 39 kmCleveland County 43 kmOklahoma County 48 kmOkfuskee County 53 kmMcClain County 65 kmHughes County 71 kmCreek County 74 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
7:32 am CST on 14 December 2021 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) north of Shawnee, OK · earthquakes near Shawnee
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pottawatomie County, 21 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1793 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Shawnee, 8 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: Shawnee 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 4.2 on 2016-04-07 — about 4,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma · 20 km NE of this epicentre

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 35.3982, -96.9122. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pottawatomie County, OK 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Pottawatomie County
Lincoln County, OK 34 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near Lincoln County
Seminole County, OK 39 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Seminole County
Cleveland County, OK 43 km (27 mi) WSW earthquakes near Cleveland County
Oklahoma County, OK 48 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Oklahoma County
Okfuskee County, OK 53 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Okfuskee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 9 km E of Meeker, Oklahoma
  2. 2.1 7 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  3. 2.2 4 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  4. 2.3 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  5. 3.0 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  6. 2.7 12 km E of Hall Park, Oklahoma
  7. 1.8 4 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  8. 1.9 4 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 5 km W of Prague, Oklahoma
  10. 2.3 4 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  11. 2.6 4 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  12. 1.9 3 km SE of Carney, Oklahoma
  13. 1.5 3 km SE of Carney, Oklahoma
  14. 1.9 3 km ESE of Carney, Oklahoma
  15. 1.8 3 km ESE of Carney, 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.