QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.1ml

Oklahoma

Yes. A magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded in Oklahoma, 50 km (31 mi) WSW of Enid, OK, at 6:55 am CST on 18 January 2016 (12:55 UTC), 8.3 km deep. 27 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

50 km (31 mi) WSW of Enid, OK · 121 km (75 mi) NW of Oklahoma City, OK

· 8.3 km deep · released about 21 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Major County 13 kmBlaine County 44 kmAlfalfa County 51 kmKingfisher County 56 kmGarfield County 57 kmDewey County 64 kmWoods County 65 kmWoodward County 79 kmGrant County 80 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
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 4.1 (ml)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
27 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Major County, 13 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2427 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 491 km (305 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Fairview 6 km, intensity IV · Okeene 20 km, intensity IV · Helena 33 km, intensity IV · Watonga 48 km, intensity III · Enid 49 km, intensity III · Hennessey 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.1 about 21 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 45× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.7 on 2016-01-07 — about 7.9 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 36.2761, -98.4096. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Major County, OK 13 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Major County
Blaine County, OK 44 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Blaine County
Alfalfa County, OK 51 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Kingfisher County, OK 56 km (35 mi) SE earthquakes near Kingfisher County
Garfield County, OK 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Garfield County
Dewey County, OK 64 km (40 mi) WSW earthquakes near Dewey 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. 3.4 17 km ESE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  2. 2.7 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  3. 2.6 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  4. 2.8 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  5. 4.0 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 5.1 18 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  7. 2.7 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  8. 2.6 16 km ESE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  9. 2.5 6 km SE of Drummond, Oklahoma
  10. 2.8 3 km N of Lambert, Oklahoma
  11. 3.1 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  12. 3.2 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  13. 2.9 22 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  14. 2.6 8 km SSE of Meno, Oklahoma
  15. 2.7 8 km WNW of Jet, 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.