QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Ponca City, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponca City in the 24 hours to 2:27 pm CST (20:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 149 km (93 mi) SW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ponca City

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Ponca City, OK, at 7:28 am CDT on 2 May 2017 (12:28 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 10 km WNW of Red Rock, Oklahoma

44 km (27 mi) NNW of Stillwater, OK · 115 km (72 mi) N of Oklahoma City, OK

7:28 am CDT, May 2, 2017 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Noble County 13 kmKay County 38 kmGarfield County 46 kmPayne County 54 kmGrant County 56 kmPawnee County 56 kmLogan County 66 kmOsage County 80 kmKingfisher 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
7:28 am CDT on 2 May 2017 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) southwest of Ponca City, OK · earthquakes near Ponca City
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Noble County, 13 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3393 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 Ponca City, 30 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: Perry 22 km, intensity III · Ponca City 30 km, intensity II · Blackwell 35 km, intensity II · Stillwater 46 km, intensity II · Pawnee 47 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 36.4894, -97.2888. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Noble County, OK 13 km (8 mi) SSE earthquakes near Noble County
Kay County, OK 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kay County
Garfield County, OK 46 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Garfield County
Payne County, OK 54 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Payne County
Grant County, OK 56 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Grant County
Pawnee County, OK 56 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pawnee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 11 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  2. 2.3 9 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
  3. 2.1 14 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  4. 2.6 13 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  5. 3.3 9 km W of Red Rock, Oklahoma
  6. 2.0 3 km WNW of Skedee, Oklahoma
  7. 2.5 10 km W of Lamont, Oklahoma
  8. 2.9 14 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  9. 2.8 13 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  10. 2.7 14 km NNW of Pawnee, Oklahoma
  11. 2.6 8 km WSW of Glencoe, Oklahoma
  12. 2.9 Oklahoma
  13. 2.6 9 km ENE of Orlando, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 14 km WSW of Ralston, Oklahoma
  15. 3.3 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.