Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1mb_lg
Earthquake near Buffalo, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Buffalo in the 24 hours to 10:08 am CST (16:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 197 km (122 mi) SE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Buffalo
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Buffalo, OK, at 12:13 pm CDT on 15 August 2017 (17:13 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 28 km SSE of Protection, Kansas
- When
- 12:13 pm CDT on 15 August 2017 ()
- Where
- 29 km (18 mi) east-northeast of Buffalo, OK · earthquakes near Buffalo
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Comanche County, 25 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3285 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Buffalo, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Buffalo, OK. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 Buffalo, 29 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: Buffalo 29 km, intensity III. 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.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- 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 36.9692, -99.3456. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comanche County, KS | 25 km (16 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Comanche County |
| Harper County, OK | 34 km (21 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Woods County, OK | 51 km (31 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Woods County |
| Clark County, KS | 51 km (32 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Woodward County, OK | 61 km (38 mi) | S | earthquakes near Woodward County |
| Barber County, KS | 65 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Barber County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.7 16 km SSW of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.4 14 km SSE of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.8 14 km SSE of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.9 14 km SSE of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.8 23 km NE of Fort Supply, Oklahoma
- 2.6 15 km SSW of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.5 14 km WNW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
- 2.6 14 km WNW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
- 2.9 14 km SSE of Freedom, Oklahoma
- 2.1 6 km WNW of Buffalo, Oklahoma
- 2.3 8 km W of Buffalo, Oklahoma
- 2.8 22 km NE of Fort Supply, Oklahoma
- 2.7 27 km SSE of Protection, Kansas
- 3.0 22 km NE of Fort Supply, Oklahoma
- 2.4 12 km NNE of Woodward, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.