QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Blackwell, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Blackwell in the 24 hours to 4:54 pm CST (22:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 149 km (93 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Blackwell

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) west-northwest of Blackwell, OK, at 11:34 pm CST on 29 January 2017 (05:34 UTC), 3.0 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma

92 km (57 mi) S of Wichita, KS

11:34 pm CST, Jan 29, 2017 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Blackwell Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kay County 28 kmGrant County 32 kmSumner County 41 kmNoble County 57 kmGarfield County 63 kmHarper County 65 kmCowley County 68 kmAlfalfa County 79 kmSedgwick County 90 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
11:34 pm CST on 29 January 2017 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) west-northwest of Blackwell, OK · earthquakes near Blackwell
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Kay County, 28 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3486 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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Blackwell, 16 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: Blackwell 16 km, intensity III · Caldwell 23 km, intensity III · Ponca City 37 km, intensity III · Wellington 44 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-11-25 — about 22 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 36.8704, -97.4489. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kay County, OK 28 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kay County
Grant County, OK 32 km (20 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grant County
Sumner County, KS 41 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Sumner County
Noble County, OK 57 km (36 mi) SSE earthquakes near Noble County
Garfield County, OK 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Garfield County
Harper County, KS 65 km (41 mi) WNW earthquakes near Harper County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 9 km WNW of South Haven, Kansas
  2. 2.2 9 km WNW of South Haven, Kansas
  3. 2.7 8 km WNW of Deer Creek, Oklahoma
  4. 2.7 0 km WSW of Wakita, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 5 km SSW of Bluff City, Kansas
  6. 1.7 5 km SSE of Freeport, Kansas
  7. 2.7 6 km WNW of Lamont, Oklahoma
  8. 2.8 3 km WNW of Deer Creek, Oklahoma
  9. 1.5 12 km W of Caldwell, Kansas
  10. 1.7 5 km SSE of Freeport, Kansas
  11. 2.6 2 km ENE of South Haven, Kansas
  12. 1.7 12 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
  13. 2.1 5 km SSE of Freeport, Kansas
  14. 3.4 9 km ESE of Medford, Oklahoma
  15. 1.8 5 km SSE of Freeport, 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.