QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

USGS: 3 km NNE of Assaria, Kansas

4:32 am CST, Dec 4, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Saline County 10 kmMcPherson County 36 kmDickinson County 41 kmOttawa County 47 kmEllsworth County 53 kmMarion County 58 kmLincoln County 66 kmRice County 67 kmHarvey 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
4:32 am CST on 4 December 2021 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) S of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Saline County, 10 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1693 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) S of Salina, KS, at 4:32 am CST on 4 December 2021 (10:32 UTC). 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: Lindsborg, Solomon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 38.7141, -97.5891. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Saline County, KS 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Saline County
McPherson County, KS 36 km (22 mi) S earthquakes near McPherson County
Dickinson County, KS 41 km (26 mi) ENE earthquakes near Dickinson County
Ottawa County, KS 47 km (29 mi) N earthquakes near Ottawa County
Ellsworth County, KS 53 km (33 mi) W earthquakes near Ellsworth County
Marion County, KS 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Marion 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 2 km SW of Assaria, Kansas
  2. 2.4 3 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  3. 2.7 4 km WSW of Assaria, Kansas
  4. 2.6 0 km SSW of Assaria, Kansas
  5. 2.5 3 km NNW of Assaria, Kansas
  6. 2.4 0 km N of Assaria, Kansas
  7. 2.5 4 km SSE of Smolan, Kansas
  8. 2.2 5 km N of Assaria, Kansas
  9. 2.5 4 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  10. 2.7 3 km SSE of Solomon, Kansas
  11. 2.5 4 km W of Bennington, Kansas
  12. 3.4 6 km NNE of Bennington, Kansas
  13. 3.1 7 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  14. 2.6 7 km NNE of Bennington, Kansas
  15. 3.4 3 km NNW of Bennington, 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.