QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1mb_lg

Earthquake near Tyndall, SD

No earthquake was likely felt in Tyndall in the 24 hours to 7:50 am CST (13:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.7, 286 km (178 mi) NW, at 2:39 pm CDT on 30 May 2024, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 485 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Tyndall

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) north of Tyndall, SD, at 8:55 am CST on 4 January 2021 (14:55 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 55 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km N of Tyndall, South Dakota

8:55 am CST, Jan 4, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bon Homme County 7 kmHutchinson County 34 kmYankton County 39 kmKnox County 46 kmDouglas County 56 kmCharles Mix County 62 kmTurner County 65 kmCedar County 69 kmHanson County 71 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
8:55 am CST on 4 January 2021 ()
Where
6 km (3 mi) north of Tyndall, SD · earthquakes near Tyndall
Magnitude
M 3.1 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
55 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Bon Homme County, 7 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2071 days ago

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 Tyndall, 6 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Springfield.

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.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. 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 43.0433, -97.8633. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bon Homme County, SD 7 km (4 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bon Homme County
Hutchinson County, SD 34 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hutchinson County
Yankton County, SD 39 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near Yankton County
Knox County, NE 46 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Knox County
Douglas County, SD 56 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Douglas County
Charles Mix County, SD 62 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Charles Mix County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.5 6 km SSE of Santee, Nebraska

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.