QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6mb_lg

Earthquake near Russell, KS

USGS: 10 km ENE of Luray, Kansas

10:22 pm CST, Dec 1, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Russell Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Osborne County 28 kmRussell County 30 kmLincoln County 33 kmMitchell County 42 kmEllsworth County 59 kmRooks County 68 kmEllis County 69 kmSmith County 73 kmBarton County 75 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
10:22 pm CST on 1 December 2021 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) NE of Russell, KS · earthquakes near Russell
Magnitude
M 2.6 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Osborne County, 28 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1700 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) NE of Russell, KS, at 10:22 pm CST on 1 December 2021 (04:22 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 39.1438, -98.5800. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Osborne County, KS 28 km (17 mi) NW earthquakes near Osborne County
Russell County, KS 30 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Russell County
Lincoln County, KS 33 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Mitchell County, KS 42 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Mitchell County
Ellsworth County, KS 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ellsworth County
Rooks County, KS 68 km (42 mi) WNW earthquakes near Rooks County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 9 km SW of Natoma, Kansas
  2. 2.8 6 km NW of Wilson, Kansas
  3. 2.6 6 km NE of Dorrance, Kansas
  4. 2.7 8 km NE of Dorrance, Kansas
  5. 2.8 4 km NNE of Wilson, Kansas
  6. 2.5 3 km NNE of Wilson, Kansas
  7. 3.1 5 km NNE of Wilson, Kansas
  8. 3.2 5 km NNW of Wilson, Kansas
  9. 2.7 4 km NW of Wilson, Kansas
  10. 3.4 7 km NE of Dorrance, Kansas
  11. 3.0 4 km SE of Paradise, Kansas
  12. 2.9 13 km NNE of Luray, Kansas
  13. 2.7 4 km SE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  14. 2.5 1 km NNW of Glen Elder, Kansas
  15. 2.5 1 km NNE of Glen Elder, 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.