QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

9 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas

· 9.4 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 23 kmSedgwick County 30 kmCowley County 53 kmButler County 62 kmHarper County 66 kmKingman County 69 kmHarvey County 70 kmKay County 71 kmGrant County 79 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
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
9.4 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Sumner County, 23 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1512 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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.

Where

Epicentre 37.4232, -97.3819. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Sumner County, KS 23 km (14 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Sumner County
Sedgwick County, KS 30 km (18 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Cowley County, KS 53 km (33 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Cowley County
Butler County, KS 62 km (38 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Butler County
Harper County, KS 66 km (41 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Harper County
Kingman County, KS 69 km (43 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Kingman County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km SSE of Argonia, Kansas
  2. 3.3 2 km ENE of South Haven, Kansas
  3. 1.7 3 km SSE of Argonia, Kansas
  4. 3.0 2 km ESE of South Haven, Kansas
  5. 2.6 2 km ESE of South Haven, Kansas
  6. 1.7 4 km SE of Freeport, Kansas
  7. 1.9 9 km WNW of South Haven, Kansas
  8. 1.8 9 km S of Milton, Kansas
  9. 1.8 3 km N of Freeport, Kansas
  10. 2.0 7 km NNE of Caldwell, Kansas
  11. 1.9 5 km SSE of Freeport, Kansas
  12. 1.7 5 km ESE of Freeport, Kansas
  13. 2.1 4 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas
  14. 2.5 9 km SW of Conway Springs, Kansas
  15. 1.9 6 km WNW of Hunnewell, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.