QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Harper, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Harper in the 24 hours to 4:50 pm CST (22:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 186 km (116 mi) S, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Harper

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Harper, KS, at 3:18 pm CDT on 30 June 2017 (20:18 UTC), 5.7 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SE of Harper, Kansas

74 km (46 mi) SW of Wichita, KS

3:18 pm CDT, Jun 30, 2017 · · 5.7 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Harper County 10 kmKingman County 37 kmSumner County 43 kmGrant County 54 kmBarber County 63 kmAlfalfa County 65 kmSedgwick County 66 kmReno County 78 kmPratt County 81 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
3:18 pm CDT on 30 June 2017 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) southeast of Harper, KS · earthquakes near Harper
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
5.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Harper County, 10 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1946 days ago

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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Harper, 6 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: Anthony 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 710 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 37.2476, -97.9782. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Harper County, KS 10 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near Harper County
Kingman County, KS 37 km (23 mi) NNW earthquakes near Kingman County
Sumner County, KS 43 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Sumner County
Grant County, OK 54 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Grant County
Barber County, KS 63 km (39 mi) W earthquakes near Barber County
Alfalfa County, OK 65 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Alfalfa County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 5 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
  2. 2.1 11 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  3. 1.7 2 km SE of Milan, Kansas
  4. 2.2 2 km SE of Milan, Kansas
  5. 3.4 4 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
  6. 2.5 5 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
  7. 1.8 11 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  8. 2.9 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  9. 2.0 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  10. 3.4 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  11. 3.2 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  12. 1.7 12 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  13. 2.3 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  14. 2.3 10 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
  15. 1.7 12 km N of Caldwell, 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.