QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Stillwater, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 4:14 pm CST (22:14 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 105 km (65 mi) WSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Stillwater

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK, at 10:01 pm CDT on 3 September 2016 (03:01 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ENE of Morrison, Oklahoma

23 km (14 mi) NNE of Stillwater, OK · 107 km (66 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK

10:01 pm CDT, Sep 3, 2016 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pawnee County 24 kmNoble County 25 kmPayne County 27 kmKay County 57 kmOsage County 60 kmLogan County 63 kmLincoln County 69 kmCreek County 70 kmGarfield County 74 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
10:01 pm CDT on 3 September 2016 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pawnee County, 24 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3631 days ago

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 56 km (35 mi) from the epicentre. In Stillwater, 24 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: Pawnee 14 km, intensity III · Stillwater 24 km, intensity III · Perry 29 km, intensity II · Yale 33 km, intensity II · Perkins 39 km, intensity II · Cushing 41 km, intensity II · Ponca City 44 km, intensity II · Langston 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.8 on 2016-09-03 — about 45,000 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 36.3202, -96.9641. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pawnee County, OK 24 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Pawnee County
Noble County, OK 25 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Noble County
Payne County, OK 27 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Payne County
Kay County, OK 57 km (36 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kay County
Osage County, OK 60 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Osage County
Logan County, OK 63 km (39 mi) SW earthquakes near Logan 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. 2.0 Oklahoma
  2. 1.8 16 km NNE of Morrison, Oklahoma
  3. 2.9 11 km N of Perry, Oklahoma
  4. 1.8 16 km NNE of Morrison, Oklahoma
  5. 2.5 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  6. 1.6 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  7. 1.6 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  8. 2.2 10 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  9. 2.4 5 km N of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  10. 1.8 12 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  11. 2.6 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  12. 1.8 9 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  13. 1.6 13 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 8 km N of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  15. 2.7 13 km NW of Pawnee, 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.