QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Stillwater, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 10:08 am CST (16:08 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK, at 2:00 pm CDT on 8 September 2016 (19:00 UTC), 5.9 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 17 km NNE of Morrison, Oklahoma

37 km (23 mi) NNE of Stillwater, OK · 120 km (75 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK

2:00 pm CDT, Sep 8, 2016 · · 5.9 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Noble County 26 kmPawnee County 27 kmPayne County 41 kmKay County 44 kmOsage County 53 kmLogan County 74 kmGarfield County 75 kmCreek County 79 kmLincoln County 83 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
2:00 pm CDT on 8 September 2016 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) north-northeast of Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.9 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Noble County, 26 km WSW
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 51 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Stillwater, 38 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 18 km, intensity III · Ponca City 31 km, intensity II · Perry 35 km, intensity II · Stillwater 38 km, intensity II · Yale 43 km, intensity II · Blackwell 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 63,000 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 36.4465, -96.9537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Noble County, OK 26 km (16 mi) WSW earthquakes near Noble County
Pawnee County, OK 27 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pawnee County
Payne County, OK 41 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Payne County
Kay County, OK 44 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kay County
Osage County, OK 53 km (33 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

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 13 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  2. 1.8 13 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  3. 2.0 10 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  4. 2.1 12 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  5. 2.2 13 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  6. 2.5 13 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  7. 2.7 10 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  8. 1.5 14 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  9. 2.0 15 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  10. 1.9 10 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  11. 2.1 14 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  12. 2.1 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  13. 2.0 13 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 8 km WNW of Maramec, Oklahoma
  15. 2.2 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.