QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

USGS: 3 km NNE of Hope, Kansas

9:49 pm CDT, Oct 23, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dickinson County 18 kmMorris County 36 kmMarion County 40 kmGeary County 40 kmSaline County 52 kmChase County 62 kmMcPherson County 62 kmOttawa County 69 kmRiley 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
9:49 pm CDT on 23 October 2020 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) ESE of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 3.0 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Dickinson County, 18 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2092 days ago

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) ESE of Salina, KS, at 9:49 pm CDT on 23 October 2020 (02:49 UTC). 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Herington, Abilene, Chapman.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 38.7205, -97.0628. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dickinson County, KS 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dickinson County
Morris County, KS 36 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Morris County
Marion County, KS 40 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Marion County
Geary County, KS 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Geary County
Saline County, KS 52 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Saline County
Chase County, KS 62 km (39 mi) SE earthquakes near Chase County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  2. 2.6 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  3. 3.0 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  4. 2.3 6 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
  5. 2.2 8 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
  6. 2.4 7 km ENE of Hope, Kansas
  7. 2.5 6 km ENE of Hope, Kansas
  8. 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  9. 2.4 6 km SW of Woodbine, Kansas
  10. 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  11. 3.1 5 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  12. 2.7 Kansas
  13. 1.8 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  14. 3.1 4 km ESE of Assaria, Kansas
  15. 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, 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.