QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Stillwater, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Stillwater in the 24 hours to 2:12 pm CST (20:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 105 km (65 mi) WSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Stillwater

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Stillwater, OK, at 12:59 pm CDT on 22 April 2016 (17:59 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km NW of Stillwater, Oklahoma

in Stillwater, OK · 83 km (52 mi) NNE of Oklahoma City, OK

12:59 pm CDT, Apr 22, 2016 · · 11 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Payne County 10 kmNoble County 32 kmPawnee County 40 kmLogan County 41 kmLincoln County 50 kmCreek County 67 kmGarfield County 70 kmOklahoma County 70 kmKay County 77 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
12:59 pm CDT on 22 April 2016 ()
Where
in Stillwater, OK · earthquakes near Stillwater
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Payne County, 10 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1562 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Stillwater in town, intensity II · Perkins 17 km, intensity II · Langston 26 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 4.2 on 2016-03-29 — about 1,400 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 36.1262, -97.0712. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Payne County, OK 10 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Payne County
Noble County, OK 32 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Noble County
Pawnee County, OK 40 km (25 mi) ENE earthquakes near Pawnee County
Logan County, OK 41 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Logan County
Lincoln County, OK 50 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Creek County, OK 67 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Creek 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. 3.2 2 km NE of Meridian, Oklahoma
  2. 3.1 8 km NNE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
  3. 2.6 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  4. 2.6 Oklahoma
  5. 2.8 3 km E of Mulhall, Oklahoma
  6. 2.8 1 km WSW of Meridian, Oklahoma
  7. 2.5 5 km SE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
  8. 2.5 2 km N of Maramec, Oklahoma
  9. 2.6 7 km ESE of Lucien, Oklahoma
  10. 2.8 1 km W of Meridian, Oklahoma
  11. 1.7 2 km NNW of Maramec, Oklahoma
  12. 2.6 10 km N of Crescent, Oklahoma
  13. 2.5 2 km SSW of Carney, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 5 km SSW of Cushing, Oklahoma
  15. 2.7 7 km ESE of Orlando, 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.