Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3mb_lg
Earthquake near Clearwater, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Clearwater in the 24 hours to 8:50 pm CST (02:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 216 km (134 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 Clearwater
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Clearwater, KS, at 3:55 pm CDT on 30 May 2017 (20:55 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 8 km SSW of Clearwater, Kansas
33 km (20 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 3:55 pm CDT on 30 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Clearwater, KS · earthquakes near Clearwater
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Sumner County, 22 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3376 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Clearwater, KS
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Clearwater, 8 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: Conway Springs 11 km, intensity II · Haysville 21 km, intensity II · Belle Plaine 22 km, intensity II · Wellington 23 km, intensity II · Derby 26 km, intensity II · Cheney 32 km, intensity II · Wichita 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- 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.
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
Epicentre 37.4320, -97.5254. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner County, KS | 22 km (14 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 28 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
| Harper County, KS | 55 km (34 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Kingman County, KS | 56 km (35 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Cowley County, KS | 65 km (40 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Cowley County |
| Harvey County, KS | 69 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Harvey County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 6 km WNW of Danville, Kansas
- 2.8 5 km E of Harper, Kansas
- 1.6 3 km SSE of Danville, Kansas
- 1.6 7 km ESE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.7 3 km SSE of Danville, Kansas
- 2.5 3 km SSE of Danville, Kansas
- 2.0 6 km SSE of Argonia, Kansas
- 2.2 7 km SE of Harper, Kansas
- 1.6 7 km SE of Harper, Kansas
- 3.5 7 km SE of Harper, Kansas
- 2.0 4 km NNW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.8 8 km SE of Harper, Kansas
- 2.1 6 km SE of Harper, Kansas
- 2.6 6 km SSW of Cheney, Kansas
- 2.6 2 km SSW of Cheney, 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
- 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.