Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
3 km SSE of Bluff City, KS
Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km SSE of Bluff City, KS, 84 km (52 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS, at 5:49 am CDT on 21 August 2016 (10:49 UTC), 3.3 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
84 km (52 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 3.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 15 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Harper County, 24 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3645 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anthony, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Anthony, KS. No account or email needed.
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 67 km (42 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: Anthony 19 km, intensity III · Caldwell 22 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 42 km, intensity II · Wellington 49 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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.
Where
Epicentre 37.0537, -97.8565. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper County, KS | 24 km (15 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Grant County, OK | 30 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Sumner County, KS | 38 km (24 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 55 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Alfalfa County |
| Kingman County, KS | 61 km (38 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Kay County, OK | 69 km (43 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Kay County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 10 km ESE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 2.6 6 km NNW of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.5 10 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.9 9 km NNW of Caldwell, Kansas
- 2.7 5 km NE of Medford, Oklahoma
- 2.0 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas
- 3.3 7 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.9 8 km ESE of Pond Creek, Oklahoma
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas
- 2.7 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.7 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas
- 2.8 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 3.5 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 3.7 4 km NNW of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 3.9 6 km N of Wakita, 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.