QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Fairview, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Fairview in the 24 hours to 10:08 am CST (16:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 83 km (52 mi) SSE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fairview

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Fairview, OK, at 5:41 pm CDT on 21 March 2016 (22:41 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km S of Cleo Springs, Oklahoma

52 km (32 mi) W of Enid, OK · 131 km (81 mi) NW of Oklahoma City, OK

5:41 pm CDT, Mar 21, 2016 · · 7.4 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Major County 11 kmAlfalfa County 41 kmWoods County 54 kmBlaine County 55 kmGarfield County 59 kmKingfisher County 66 kmDewey County 67 kmWoodward County 74 kmGrant County 75 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
5:41 pm CDT on 21 March 2016 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) north-northeast of Fairview, OK · earthquakes near Fairview
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Major County, 11 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1562 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 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Fairview, 12 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: Fairview 12 km, intensity III · Helena 25 km, intensity III · Okeene 31 km, intensity III · Cherokee 43 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more

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 5.1 on 2016-02-13 — about 1,000 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 36.3705, -98.4457. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Major County, OK 11 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Major County
Alfalfa County, OK 41 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Woods County, OK 54 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Woods County
Blaine County, OK 55 km (34 mi) S earthquakes near Blaine County
Garfield County, OK 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Garfield County
Kingfisher County, OK 66 km (41 mi) SE earthquakes near Kingfisher County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  2. 2.8 3 km NNE of Meno, Oklahoma
  3. 2.4 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  4. 2.6 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  5. 3.1 3 km NNE of Meno, Oklahoma
  6. 2.4 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  7. 3.7 4 km N of Meno, Oklahoma
  8. 2.6 4 km ENE of Avard, Oklahoma
  9. 2.2 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  10. 1.5 18 km ESE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  11. 2.8 9 km NW of Dacoma, Oklahoma
  12. 2.6 5 km SSW of Jet, Oklahoma
  13. 2.6 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  14. 3.3 2 km S of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  15. 2.7 17 km ESE 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.