QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Tahlequah, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Tahlequah in the 24 hours to 10:10 am CST (16:10 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 541 km (336 mi) W, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tahlequah

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 quarry blast was recorded 11 km (7 mi) southwest of Tahlequah, OK, at 10:33 am CST on 6 January 2023 (16:33 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NNE of Zeb, Oklahoma

84 km (52 mi) ESE of Tulsa, OK

10:33 am CST, Jan 6, 2023 · · 0.0 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cherokee County 8 kmAdair County 36 kmMuskogee County 40 kmWagoner County 45 kmSequoyah County 46 kmMayes County 54 kmDelaware County 65 kmHaskell County 68 kmWashington County 76 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
10:33 am CST on 6 January 2023 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) southwest of Tahlequah, OK · earthquakes near Tahlequah
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cherokee County, 8 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1402 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Tahlequah, 11 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Park Hill, Fort Gibson.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 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 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 35.8405, -95.0412. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cherokee County, OK 8 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cherokee County
Adair County, OK 36 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Adair County
Muskogee County, OK 40 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near Muskogee County
Wagoner County, OK 45 km (28 mi) WNW earthquakes near Wagoner County
Sequoyah County, OK 46 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Sequoyah County
Mayes County, OK 54 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mayes County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3 km SW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  2. 1.7 3 km SW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  3. 1.9 2 km SE of Zeb, Oklahoma
  4. 1.6 2 km WSW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 2 km SE of Zeb, Oklahoma
  6. 1.5 4 km WSW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  7. 1.5 3 km WSW of Paradise Hill, Oklahoma
  8. 1.6 2 km WSW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  9. 1.5 3 km NE of Sportsmen Acres, Oklahoma
  10. 1.7 3 km WSW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  11. 1.7 3 km SSE of Zeb, Oklahoma
  12. 1.7 3 km WSW of Hulbert, Oklahoma
  13. 1.5 3 km ESE of Sour John, Oklahoma
  14. 2.0 3 km SE of Zeb, Oklahoma
  15. 1.7 4 km SSW of Hulbert, 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.