QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

USGS: 6 km WNW of New Cambria, Kansas

3:51 am CDT, Mar 21, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Saline County 14 kmOttawa County 27 kmDickinson County 36 kmMcPherson County 57 kmLincoln County 58 kmEllsworth County 59 kmClay County 60 kmCloud County 65 kmGeary County 70 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
3:51 am CDT on 21 March 2019 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) NNE of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Saline County, 14 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2675 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) NNE of Salina, KS, at 3:51 am CDT on 21 March 2019 (08:51 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Solomon, Minneapolis.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. 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 38.9036, -97.5720. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Saline County, KS 14 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Saline County
Ottawa County, KS 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ottawa County
Dickinson County, KS 36 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Dickinson County
McPherson County, KS 57 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near McPherson County
Lincoln County, KS 58 km (36 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Ellsworth County, KS 59 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ellsworth County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 8 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
  2. 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  3. 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  4. 3.1 5 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  5. 2.7 Kansas
  6. 1.8 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  7. 3.1 4 km ESE of Assaria, Kansas
  8. 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  9. 2.4 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  10. 2.8 4 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  11. 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  12. 2.5 6 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  13. 3.7 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  14. 3.7 6 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  15. 2.7 4 km E of Assaria, 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.