QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3mb_lg

Earthquake near Marion, KS

USGS: 3 km ESE of Marion, Kansas

78 km (49 mi) NNE of Wichita, KS

8:54 pm CST, Nov 21, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Marion Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Marion County 11 kmChase County 34 kmMorris County 49 kmHarvey County 51 kmMcPherson County 58 kmDickinson County 61 kmButler County 64 kmLyon County 73 kmGeary County 77 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
8:54 pm CST on 21 November 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) ESE of Marion, KS · earthquakes near Marion
Magnitude
M 2.3 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Marion County, 11 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2067 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) ESE of Marion, KS, at 8:54 pm CST on 21 November 2020 (02:54 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hillsboro, Peabody.

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 38.3348, -96.9856. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Marion County, KS 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Marion County
Chase County, KS 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Chase County
Morris County, KS 49 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Morris County
Harvey County, KS 51 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Harvey County
McPherson County, KS 58 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near McPherson County
Dickinson County, KS 61 km (38 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dickinson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 15 km SE of Lincolnville, Kansas
  2. 2.5 Kansas
  3. 2.8 7 km SW of Woodbine, Kansas
  4. 2.2 13 km SE of Lincolnville, Kansas
  5. 2.5 12 km SSE of Lincolnville, Kansas
  6. 2.8 14 km SE of Lincolnville, Kansas
  7. 2.2 5 km ESE of Marion, Kansas
  8. 2.4 5 km NNE of Hope, Kansas
  9. 2.3 6 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
  10. 2.2 8 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
  11. 2.4 7 km ENE of Hope, Kansas
  12. 2.5 6 km ENE of Hope, Kansas
  13. 2.4 6 km SW of Woodbine, Kansas
  14. 2.0 2 km SSW of Marion, Kansas
  15. 3.1 7 km SW of Woodbine, 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.