QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6ml

Earthquake near Hennessey, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Hennessey in the 24 hours to 10:47 am CST (16:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 57 km (35 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hennessey

This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hennessey, OK, at 11:55 am CDT on 24 March 2017 (16:55 UTC), 5.7 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Hennessey, Oklahoma

80 km (49 mi) NNW of Oklahoma City, OK · 30 km (19 mi) S of Enid, OK

11:55 am CDT, Mar 24, 2017 · · 5.7 km deep · released about 3.8 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kingfisher County 23 kmGarfield County 27 kmLogan County 42 kmNoble County 59 kmBlaine County 62 kmMajor County 67 kmCanadian County 68 kmGrant County 72 kmOklahoma 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
11:55 am CDT on 24 March 2017 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hennessey, OK · earthquakes near Hennessey
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.6 (ml)
Depth
5.7 km below the surface
Felt
7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Kingfisher County, 23 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3439 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 338 km (210 mi) from the epicentre. In Hennessey, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Hennessey 8 km, intensity IV · Crescent 29 km, intensity III · Enid 29 km, intensity III · Kingfisher 32 km, intensity III · Okeene 44 km, intensity III · Guthrie 46 km, intensity III · Okarche 48 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.8 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-03-29 — about 7.9 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 36.1370, -97.8224. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kingfisher County, OK 23 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kingfisher County
Garfield County, OK 27 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near Garfield County
Logan County, OK 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Logan County
Noble County, OK 59 km (37 mi) ENE earthquakes near Noble County
Blaine County, OK 62 km (38 mi) WSW earthquakes near Blaine County
Major County, OK 67 km (42 mi) WNW earthquakes near Major 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. 2.5 9 km NE of Marshall, Oklahoma
  2. 2.6 1 km W of Douglas, Oklahoma
  3. 2.4 1 km WNW of Douglas, Oklahoma
  4. 2.6 3 km ENE of Marshall, Oklahoma
  5. 2.9 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  6. 2.9 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  7. 2.9 4 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  8. 2.5 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  9. 2.9 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  10. 3.8 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  11. 2.5 4 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  12. 3.7 4 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  13. 2.5 4 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 6 km S of Cedar Valley, Oklahoma
  15. 2.3 10 km W of Mulhall, 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.