QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Woodward, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Woodward in the 24 hours to 10:51 am CST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 152 km (94 mi) SE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Woodward

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) southeast of Woodward, OK, at 12:14 pm CDT on 26 March 2018 (17:14 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 13 km WNW of Taloga, Oklahoma

12:14 pm CDT, Mar 26, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dewey County 15 kmWoodward County 40 kmCuster County 51 kmMajor County 55 kmEllis County 60 kmBlaine County 65 kmRoger Mills County 73 kmWoods County 73 kmWashita 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
12:14 pm CDT on 26 March 2018 ()
Where
46 km (28 mi) southeast of Woodward, OK · earthquakes near Woodward
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dewey County, 15 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3064 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 Woodward, 46 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: Mooreland 39 km, intensity II · Woodward 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 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 4.1 on 2016-11-07 — about 180 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 36.0973, -99.0952. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dewey County, OK 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dewey County
Woodward County, OK 40 km (25 mi) NNW earthquakes near Woodward County
Custer County, OK 51 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Custer County
Major County, OK 55 km (34 mi) ENE earthquakes near Major County
Ellis County, OK 60 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ellis County
Blaine County, OK 65 km (40 mi) ESE earthquakes near Blaine County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 1 km WNW of Chester, Oklahoma
  2. 2.7 17 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  3. 3.3 1 km WNW of Chester, Oklahoma
  4. 3.0 0 km WNW of Chester, Oklahoma
  5. 2.9 10 km WSW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 2.7 1 km WNW of Chester, Oklahoma
  7. 2.4 15 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  8. 2.7 2 km S of Chester, Oklahoma
  9. 2.8 1 km S of Chester, Oklahoma
  10. 2.9 1 km SSW of Chester, Oklahoma
  11. 3.0 1 km S of Chester, Oklahoma
  12. 2.5 9 km SW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  13. 2.7 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 0 km NW of Chester, Oklahoma
  15. 3.2 15 km SSE of Waynoka, 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.