QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Stillwater, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 4:49 pm CST (22:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 105 km (65 mi) WSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Stillwater

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 quarry blast was recorded 46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK, at 1:10 pm CDT on 22 September 2022 (18:10 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 6 km WSW of Ralston, Oklahoma

46 km (28 mi) NNE of Stillwater, OK · 129 km (80 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK

1:10 pm CDT, Sep 22, 2022 · · 0.0 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pawnee County 20 kmOsage County 39 kmNoble County 40 kmPayne County 47 kmKay County 49 kmCreek County 74 kmWashington County 84 kmCowley County 84 kmLogan County 86 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
1:10 pm CDT on 22 September 2022 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pawnee County, 20 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1511 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. In Stillwater, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Fairfax, Pawnee.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.8 on 2016-09-03 — about 2,800,000 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 36.4765, -96.8003. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pawnee County, OK 20 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pawnee County
Osage County, OK 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Osage County
Noble County, OK 40 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near Noble County
Payne County, OK 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Payne County
Kay County, OK 49 km (30 mi) NW earthquakes near Kay County
Creek County, OK 74 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Creek County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 13 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  2. 2.0 5 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  3. 1.6 5 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  4. 1.7 5 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 5 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  6. 3.0 11 km E of Red Rock, Oklahoma
  7. 2.0 5 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  8. 2.0 4 km W of Ponca City, Oklahoma
  9. 2.2 12 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  10. 1.8 5 km N of Terlton, Oklahoma
  11. 1.6 11 km E of Red Rock, Oklahoma
  12. 2.6 8 km N of Morrison, Oklahoma
  13. 1.7 4 km ESE of Skedee, Oklahoma
  14. 1.9 9 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  15. 3.0 9 km NNW of Pawnee, 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.