Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Caldwell, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Caldwell in the 24 hours to 9:37 pm CST (03:37 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 163 km (101 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Caldwell
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Caldwell, KS, at 9:19 pm CDT on 31 August 2016 (02:19 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas
73 km (45 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 9:19 pm CDT on 31 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Caldwell, KS · earthquakes near Caldwell
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Sumner County, 21 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3635 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Caldwell, KS
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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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Caldwell, 7 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: Caldwell 7 km, intensity III · Wellington 28 km, intensity III · Blackwell 36 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 38 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 44 km, intensity III · Anthony 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 37.0553, -97.5368. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner County, KS | 21 km (13 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Grant County, OK | 37 km (23 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Kay County, OK | 44 km (27 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Harper County, KS | 49 km (31 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Cowley County, KS | 65 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Cowley County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 70 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.9 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 1.5 4 km NNW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.8 5 km S of Argonia, Kansas
- 2.7 6 km NNW of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.6 1 km NW of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.0 1 km NW of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.5 6 km NNW of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.0 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas
- 2.3 1 km SE of Anthony, Kansas
- 1.8 6 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
- 2.6 3 km W of Braman, Oklahoma
- 2.9 12 km W of Belle Plaine, Kansas
- 3.0 5 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.6 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.1 7 km E of Bluff 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.