Earthquake near Ellis, KS

USGS: 7 km N of Ellis, Kansas

12:51 am CDT, Sep 16, 2016 · 2016-09-16 05:51 UTC · 2.1 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

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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: 12:51 am CDT on 16 September 2016 (2016-09-16 05:51 UTC)
Where: 7 km (4 mi) N of Ellis, KS · earthquakes near Ellis
Magnitude: M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth: 2.1 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Ellis County, 23 km ESE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3581 days ago · we first saw it 3581 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) N of Ellis, KS, at 12:51 am CDT on 16 September 2016 (05:51 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hays, WaKeeney.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 39.0022, -99.5624. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Ellis County, KS	23 km (14 mi)	ESE	earthquakes near Ellis County
Trego County, KS	28 km (17 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Trego County
Rooks County, KS	43 km (27 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Rooks County
Graham County, KS	48 km (30 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Graham County
Rush County, KS	58 km (36 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Rush County
Ness County, KS	65 km (41 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Ness County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

2.5 9 km SW of Natoma, Kansas 23:00 UTC
2.4 12 km NE of Damar, Kansas 12:43 UTC
2.9 7 km N of Hays, Kansas 16:48 UTC
2.8 10 km SSW of Stockton, Kansas 01:50 UTC
2.5 1 km NE of Zurich, Kansas 11:19 UTC
2.6 14 km WSW of Natoma, Kansas 23:47 UTC
2.5 3 km NE of Bogue, Kansas 15:48 UTC
2.8 16 km S of Hill City, Kansas 10:49 UTC
3.0 2 km SW of Zurich, Kansas 11:46 UTC
2.7 2 km E of Hill City, Kansas 11:23 UTC
2.6 6 km SE of Hill City, Kansas 10:49 UTC
2.1 9 km SW of Bogue, Kansas 21:27 UTC
2.7 17 km NNE of Collyer, Kansas 20:53 UTC
2.5 7 km S of Hill City, Kansas 20:51 UTC
2.4 11 km SSE of Hill City, Kansas 20:35 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 01:35 UTC. 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.