Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
Earthquake near Stillwater, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 7:39 am CST (13:39 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
This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Stillwater, OK, at 2:04 am CST on 15 January 2016 (08:04 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km S of Ripley, Oklahoma
77 km (48 mi) NE of Oklahoma City, OK · 24 km (15 mi) SE of Stillwater, OK
- When
- 2:04 am CST on 15 January 2016 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Payne County, 15 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3874 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Stillwater, OK
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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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 339 km (211 mi) from the epicentre. In Stillwater, 22 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Perkins 11 km, intensity IV · Cushing 13 km, intensity IV · Stillwater 22 km, intensity IV · Yale 26 km, intensity III · Chandler 29 km, intensity III · Langston 31 km, intensity III · Stroud 33 km, intensity III · Luther 42 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× more
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma · 49 km SSE 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 35.9593, -96.9113. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payne County, OK | 15 km (9 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Payne County |
| Lincoln County, OK | 29 km (18 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Pawnee County, OK | 44 km (27 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Pawnee County |
| Creek County, OK | 48 km (30 mi) | E | earthquakes near Creek County |
| Logan County, OK | 49 km (30 mi) | W | earthquakes near Logan County |
| Noble County, OK | 56 km (35 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Noble County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 8 km NNE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
- 3.3 8 km NNE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
- 2.6 3 km W of Cushing, Oklahoma
- 2.5 3 km W of Cushing, Oklahoma
- 3.2 9 km NNE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
- 2.5 8 km S of Mulhall, Oklahoma
- 3.0 1 km NNW of Stillwater, Oklahoma
- 2.5 4 km SW of Luther, Oklahoma
- 2.6 10 km NNE of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 2.5 9 km NW of Perkins, Oklahoma
- 2.8 Oklahoma
- 2.3 5 km NNE of Stillwater, Oklahoma
- 2.6 11 km ENE of Perry, Oklahoma
- 2.8 8 km NW of Langston, Oklahoma
- 2.7 8 km NNE of Guthrie, 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
- 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.