QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Choctaw, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Choctaw in the 24 hours to 4:54 pm CST (22:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 71 km (44 mi) W, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Choctaw

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded in Choctaw, OK, at 11:38 pm CDT on 26 August 2016 (04:38 UTC), 7.2 km deep.

USGS: 1 km ESE of Choctaw, Oklahoma

23 km (15 mi) E of Oklahoma City, OK · 11 km (7 mi) ENE of Midwest City, OK

11:38 pm CDT, Aug 26, 2016 · · 7.2 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Choctaw Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Oklahoma County 15 kmCleveland County 32 kmLincoln County 41 kmPottawatomie County 41 kmLogan County 50 kmMcClain County 56 kmCanadian County 66 kmPayne County 70 kmSeminole 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
11:38 pm CDT on 26 August 2016 ()
Where
in Choctaw, OK · earthquakes near Choctaw
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Oklahoma County, 15 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3635 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 51 km (32 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: Choctaw in town, intensity III · Midwest City 14 km, intensity III · Luther 20 km, intensity III · Oklahoma City 24 km, intensity II · Edmond 27 km, intensity II · Moore 27 km, intensity II · Bethany 34 km, intensity II · Norman 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 2016-04-07 — about 250 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma · 45 km E of this epicentre

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 35.4929, -97.2573. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Oklahoma County, OK 15 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Oklahoma County
Cleveland County, OK 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Cleveland County
Lincoln County, OK 41 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Pottawatomie County, OK 41 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Pottawatomie County
Logan County, OK 50 km (31 mi) NNW earthquakes near Logan County
McClain County, OK 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near McClain 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. 2.6 4 km SE of Harrah, Oklahoma
  2. 2.6 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  3. 2.4 5 km ESE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
  4. 2.7 Oklahoma
  5. 2.5 3 km E of Luther, Oklahoma
  6. 2.6 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  7. 2.6 6 km N of Fallis, Oklahoma
  8. 2.6 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  9. 2.5 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  10. 2.5 1 km SSW of Wellston, Oklahoma
  11. 3.3 Oklahoma
  12. 3.0 1 km ENE of Nicoma Park, Oklahoma
  13. 2.9 2 km E of Luther, Oklahoma
  14. 2.4 1 km SSW of Wellston, Oklahoma
  15. 2.5 7 km NNE of Lake Aluma, 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.