QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Enid, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Enid in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm CST (21:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 89 km (55 mi) S, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Enid

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) north-northwest of Enid, OK, at 1:24 pm CST on 17 December 2016 (19:24 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma

43 km (27 mi) NNW of Enid, OK · 121 km (75 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS

1:24 pm CST, Dec 17, 2016 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alfalfa County 23 kmGrant County 25 kmHarper County 47 kmGarfield County 49 kmMajor County 66 kmWoods County 71 kmSumner County 73 kmBarber County 75 kmKay County 82 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
1:24 pm CST on 17 December 2016 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) north-northwest of Enid, OK · earthquakes near Enid
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Alfalfa County, 23 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3528 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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Enid, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Cherokee 26 km, intensity III · Helena 30 km, intensity III · Anthony 44 km, intensity II · Enid 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 4.0 on 2016-11-25 — about 63 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 36.7614, -98.0639. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alfalfa County, OK 23 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Grant County, OK 25 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Grant County
Harper County, KS 47 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Harper County
Garfield County, OK 49 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Garfield County
Major County, OK 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Major County
Woods County, OK 71 km (44 mi) W earthquakes near Woods County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 6 km S of Lahoma, Oklahoma
  2. 3.2 0 km ENE of Renfrow, Oklahoma
  3. 3.0 3 km SW of Lamont, Oklahoma
  4. 1.7 8 km N of Manchester, Oklahoma
  5. 2.6 1 km N of Lambert, Oklahoma
  6. 2.1 9 km W of Bluff City, Kansas
  7. 1.6 6 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  8. 2.3 5 km E of Manchester, Oklahoma
  9. 3.1 Oklahoma
  10. 1.8 7 km SE of Bluff City, Kansas
  11. 2.0 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  12. 1.9 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  13. 2.6 3 km SW of Lamont, Oklahoma
  14. 1.8 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  15. 2.1 4 km E of Bluff City, 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.