QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Seminole, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Seminole in the 24 hours to 1:58 am CST (07:58 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 132 km (82 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 Seminole

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Seminole, OK, at 12:22 pm CDT on 20 May 2026 (17:22 UTC), 26 km deep.

USGS: 11 km SE of Bowlegs, Oklahoma

95 km (59 mi) ESE of Oklahoma City, OK

12:22 pm CDT, May 20, 2026 · · 26 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Seminole County 11 kmHughes County 31 kmPottawatomie County 37 kmPontotoc County 39 kmOkfuskee County 51 kmCoal County 60 kmCleveland County 69 kmLincoln County 76 kmGarvin County 77 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
12:22 pm CDT on 20 May 2026 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) south-southeast of Seminole, OK · earthquakes near Seminole
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
26 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Seminole County, 11 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 176 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 Seminole, 19 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: Wewoka, Holdenville, Maud, Konawa, Byng.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 35.0632, -96.5897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Seminole County, OK 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Seminole County
Hughes County, OK 31 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near Hughes County
Pottawatomie County, OK 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pottawatomie County
Pontotoc County, OK 39 km (24 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pontotoc County
Okfuskee County, OK 51 km (32 mi) NNE earthquakes near Okfuskee County
Coal County, OK 60 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Coal County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.1 2 km ESE of Wetumka, Oklahoma
  2. 2.0 3 km SE of Wetumka, Oklahoma
  3. 1.6 10 km SSE of Ada, Oklahoma
  4. 0.7 3 km E of Wetumka, Oklahoma
  5. 1.2 4 km ESE of Wetumka, Oklahoma
  6. 1.4 5 km NE of Fitzhugh, Oklahoma
  7. 1.0 10 km NNW of Sasakwa, Oklahoma
  8. 1.6 2 km SE of Stonewall, 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.