QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Caldwell, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Caldwell in the 24 hours to 3:53 pm CST (21:53 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 163 km (101 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Caldwell

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Caldwell, KS, at 1:03 pm CDT on 25 June 2016 (18:03 UTC), 5.3 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas

78 km (48 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS

1:03 pm CDT, Jun 25, 2016 · · 5.3 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 26 kmGrant County 32 kmKay County 43 kmHarper County 49 kmCowley County 69 kmGarfield County 73 kmAlfalfa County 75 kmSedgwick County 75 kmNoble 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
1:03 pm CDT on 25 June 2016 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Caldwell, KS · earthquakes near Caldwell
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sumner County, 26 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3726 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 Caldwell, 5 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: Caldwell 5 km, intensity III · Wellington 33 km, intensity III · Blackwell 34 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 43 km, intensity III · Anthony 45 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 49 km, intensity II. 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

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 37.0103, -97.5580. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sumner County
Grant County, OK 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Grant County
Kay County, OK 43 km (27 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kay County
Harper County, KS 49 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Harper County
Cowley County, KS 69 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cowley County
Garfield County, OK 73 km (46 mi) SSW earthquakes near Garfield 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. 2.0 6 km ENE of Renfrow, Oklahoma
  2. 1.5 6 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  3. 2.4 6 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  4. 3.1 2 km WSW of Deer Creek, Oklahoma
  5. 1.8 5 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas
  6. 2.8 10 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
  7. 1.5 1 km N of Bluff City, Kansas
  8. 1.9 2 km NE of Freeport, Kansas
  9. 3.4 8 km WNW of Deer Creek, Oklahoma
  10. 1.6 6 km S of Freeport, Kansas
  11. 1.6 6 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  12. 3.0 4 km SSE of Braman, Oklahoma
  13. 1.5 6 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  14. 2.3 5 km SE of Freeport, Kansas
  15. 1.6 5 km SE of Freeport, 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.