QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Earthquake near Clearwater, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Clearwater in the 24 hours to 3:40 pm CST (21:40 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 216 km (134 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 Clearwater

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Clearwater, KS, at 12:07 pm CDT on 28 March 2017 (17:07 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 9 km ESE of Clearwater, Kansas

25 km (15 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS

12:07 pm CDT, Mar 28, 2017 · · 14 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sedgwick County 24 kmSumner County 28 kmCowley County 57 kmButler County 60 kmHarvey County 64 kmKingman County 66 kmHarper County 67 kmKay County 77 kmReno County 79 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
12:07 pm CDT on 28 March 2017 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Clearwater, KS · earthquakes near Clearwater
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sedgwick County, 24 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3435 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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Clearwater, 9 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: Haysville 11 km, intensity II · Belle Plaine 14 km, intensity II · Derby 14 km, intensity II · Conway Springs 23 km, intensity II · Wellington 23 km, intensity II · Wichita 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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

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 37.4737, -97.4042. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sedgwick County, KS 24 km (15 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Sumner County, KS 28 km (17 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sumner County
Cowley County, KS 57 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cowley County
Butler County, KS 60 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Butler County
Harvey County, KS 64 km (40 mi) N earthquakes near Harvey County
Kingman County, KS 66 km (41 mi) W earthquakes near Kingman County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 3 km S of Rose Hill, Kansas
  2. 1.5 7 km SE of Conway Springs, Kansas
  3. 2.3 11 km SSW of Wellington, Kansas
  4. 2.5 9 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  5. 2.4 8 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  6. 2.7 5 km S of Clearwater, Kansas
  7. 2.3 8 km SSW of Clearwater, Kansas
  8. 2.6 2 km SSE of Clearwater, Kansas
  9. 2.5 10 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  10. 2.2 5 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
  11. 1.5 4 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
  12. 2.6 10 km W of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  13. 1.9 4 km NNE of Freeport, Kansas
  14. 2.6 10 km W of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  15. 1.8 6 km ESE of Mayfield, 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.