QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8mb_lg

Earthquake near Arkansas City, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Arkansas City in the 24 hours to 10:07 am CST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 185 km (115 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 Arkansas City

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west of Arkansas City, KS, at 5:21 pm CST on 6 March 2017 (23:21 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km E of South Haven, Kansas

71 km (44 mi) S of Wichita, KS

5:21 pm CST, Mar 6, 2017 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arkansas City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 24 kmKay County 33 kmGrant County 47 kmCowley County 51 kmHarper County 64 kmSedgwick County 71 kmNoble County 75 kmGarfield County 83 kmKingman County 89 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
5:21 pm CST on 6 March 2017 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) west of Arkansas City, KS · earthquakes near Arkansas City
Magnitude
M 2.8 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Sumner County, 24 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3452 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 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Arkansas City, 29 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: Caldwell 21 km, intensity III · Wellington 24 km, intensity III · Blackwell 28 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 39 km, intensity II · Conway Springs 45 km, intensity II · Ponca City 46 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 4.0 on 2016-11-25 — about 63 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 37.0482, -97.3691. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 24 km (15 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sumner County
Kay County, OK 33 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Kay County
Grant County, OK 47 km (29 mi) SW earthquakes near Grant County
Cowley County, KS 51 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cowley County
Harper County, KS 64 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near Harper County
Sedgwick County, KS 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Sedgwick 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 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
  2. 1.5 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
  3. 3.6 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  4. 3.0 Oklahoma
  5. 2.5 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  6. 2.3 3 km NNW of Freeport, Kansas
  7. 1.8 7 km ESE of Mayfield, Kansas
  8. 1.6 6 km ESE of Mayfield, Kansas
  9. 2.5 5 km WNW of Medford, Oklahoma
  10. 2.4 7 km ESE of Mayfield, Kansas
  11. 2.1 7 km ESE of Mayfield, Kansas
  12. 3.1 9 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  13. 1.6 11 km NNW of Caldwell, Kansas
  14. 2.7 8 km W of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  15. 1.6 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.