Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1mb_lg
Earthquake near Ellis, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Ellis in the 24 hours to 7:07 pm CST (01:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 46 km (29 mi) NNW, at 5:54 pm CDT on 28 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ellis
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north of Ellis, KS, at 10:27 am CDT on 31 August 2016 (15:27 UTC), 5.2 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km N of Ellis, Kansas
- When
- 10:27 am CDT on 31 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) north of Ellis, KS · earthquakes near Ellis
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 19 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Ellis County, 25 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3635 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ellis, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ellis, 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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Ellis, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Ellis 9 km, intensity III · Hays 26 km, intensity III · Plainville 33 km, intensity III · Hill City 45 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 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 39.0227, -99.5705. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellis County, KS | 25 km (16 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ellis County |
| Trego County, KS | 28 km (17 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Trego County |
| Rooks County, KS | 42 km (26 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Rooks County |
| Graham County, KS | 46 km (28 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Graham County |
| Rush County, KS | 60 km (37 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Rush County |
| Ness County, KS | 67 km (42 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ness County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 14 km WSW of Natoma, Kansas
- 2.5 3 km NE of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.8 16 km S of Hill City, Kansas
- 3.0 2 km SW of Zurich, Kansas
- 2.7 2 km E of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.6 6 km SE of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.1 9 km SW of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.7 17 km NNE of Collyer, Kansas
- 2.5 7 km S of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.4 11 km SSE of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.3 10 km SE of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.3 10 km SSE of Hill City, Kansas
- 2.6 7 km SW of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.4 8 km SSW of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.4 7 km SSE of Hill City, Kansas
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.