Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.8mww
Earthquake near Pawnee, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Pawnee in the 24 hours to 4:32 pm CST (22:32 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 138 km (86 mi) SW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pawnee
This page: a magnitude 5.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) northwest of Pawnee, OK, at 7:02 am CDT on 3 September 2016 (12:02 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 48,764 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
35 km (22 mi) NNE of Stillwater, OK · 119 km (74 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK
- When
- 7:02 am CDT on 3 September 2016 ()
- Where
- 15 km (9 mi) northwest of Pawnee, OK · earthquakes near Pawnee
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 5.8 (mww)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 48,764 reports · strongest reported intensity VIII
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Pawnee County, 24 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 50 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pawnee, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Pawnee, OK. 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 moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 1,036 km (644 mi) from the epicentre. In Pawnee, 15 km away, the estimate is intensity VII (very strong). 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: Pawnee 15 km, intensity VII · Ponca City 34 km, intensity VI · Perry 36 km, intensity VI · Stillwater 36 km, intensity VI · Yale 40 km, intensity VI. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Ridgecrest, California 2019 M 7.1 89× the energy of this one
- Loma Prieta, California 1989 M 6.9 45× the energy of this one
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.8 about 7.6 kilotons of TNT
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 this one released 1.4× more
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16,000× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
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 36.4251, -96.9291. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, OK | 24 km (15 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Pawnee County |
| Noble County, OK | 28 km (17 mi) | W | earthquakes near Noble County |
| Payne County, OK | 39 km (24 mi) | S | earthquakes near Payne County |
| Kay County, OK | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Osage County, OK | 52 km (32 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Osage County |
| Logan County, OK | 74 km (46 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Logan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 1.9 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 2.5 5 km NNW of Cushing, Oklahoma
- 1.9 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
- 2.5 9 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
- 1.7 10 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
- 1.9 4 km NE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 2.7 3 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 3.2 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 1.7 9 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
- 3.2 6 km N of Cushing, Oklahoma
- 2.0 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 3.1 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
- 2.7 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma
- 2.9 4 km ENE of Morrison, 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.