QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Oklahoma

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Oklahoma, at 3:16 am CDT on 27 March 2016 (08:16 UTC), 5.4 km deep.

· 5.4 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Major County 25 kmWoods County 32 kmWoodward County 45 kmAlfalfa County 51 kmDewey County 56 kmBlaine County 70 kmBarber County 87 kmGarfield County 88 kmHarper County 89 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
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
5.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Major County, 25 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3806 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 5.1 on 2016-02-13 — about 250,000 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 36.4451, -98.7727. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Major County, OK 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Major County
Woods County, OK 32 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Woods County
Woodward County, OK 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Woodward County
Alfalfa County, OK 51 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Dewey County, OK 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dewey County
Blaine County, OK 70 km (44 mi) SSE earthquakes near Blaine County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  2. 2.6 1 km ESE of Cleo Springs, Oklahoma
  3. 2.5 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  4. 2.9 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  5. 3.4 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 3.0 22 km WSW of Aline, Oklahoma
  7. 2.5 9 km ESE of Avard, Oklahoma
  8. 3.0 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  9. 2.8 9 km E of Avard, Oklahoma
  10. 2.3 17 km ESE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  11. 2.2 18 km ESE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  12. 3.3 18 km SW of Dacoma, Oklahoma
  13. 2.8 8 km NNE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 13 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  15. 2.6 15 km SE 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.