Earthquake near Salina, KS

USGS: 0 km SSE of Hope, Kansas

1:08 am CDT, Oct 26, 2020 · 2020-10-26 06:08 UTC · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 1:08 am CDT on 26 October 2020 (2020-10-26 06:08 UTC)
Where: 50 km (31 mi) ESE of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude: M 3.0 (mb_lg)
Depth: 5.0 km below the surface
Felt: 9 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest: Dickinson County, 22 km NNW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

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

A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) ESE of Salina, KS, at 1:08 am CDT on 26 October 2020 (06:08 UTC). 9 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.

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.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 38.6838, -97.0718. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Dickinson County, KS	22 km (14 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Dickinson County
Marion County, KS	36 km (22 mi)	S	earthquakes near Marion County
Morris County, KS	36 km (23 mi)	E	earthquakes near Morris County
Geary County, KS	44 km (27 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Geary County
Saline County, KS	52 km (32 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Saline County
McPherson County, KS	59 km (37 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near McPherson 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.

2.4 5 km NNE of Hope, Kansas 22:46 UTC
2.5 5 km W of Woodbine, Kansas 16:06 UTC
2.7 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas 01:00 UTC
2.6 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas 09:59 UTC
3.0 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas 20:37 UTC
2.3 6 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas 06:29 UTC
2.2 8 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas 13:56 UTC
2.4 7 km ENE of Hope, Kansas 11:47 UTC
2.5 6 km ENE of Hope, Kansas 03:59 UTC
2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas 18:25 UTC
2.4 6 km SW of Woodbine, Kansas 02:05 UTC
2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas 14:21 UTC
3.1 5 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas 08:41 UTC
2.7 Kansas 00:35 UTC
1.8 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas 23:42 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 01:37 UTC. 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.