Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mwr
Earthquake near Salina, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Salina in the 24 hours to 2:25 am CST (08:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 10 km (6 mi) SSE, at 3:40 pm CDT on 8 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Salina
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Salina, KS, at 3:58 am CST on 15 December 2021 (09:58 UTC), 3.0 km deep. 129 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km SSW of Gypsum, Kansas
- When
- 3:58 am CST on 15 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) southeast of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mwr)
- Depth
- 3.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 129 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Saline County, 22 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1720 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salina, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Salina, KS. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 461 km (286 mi) from the epicentre. In Salina, 23 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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.
Likely felt in: Salina 23 km, intensity IV · Herington 43 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2021-12-08 — about 2.8 times the energy of this one.
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 38.6900, -97.4346. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, KS | 22 km (14 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Saline County |
| Dickinson County, KS | 31 km (19 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Dickinson County |
| McPherson County, KS | 38 km (23 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near McPherson County |
| Marion County, KS | 47 km (29 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Ottawa County, KS | 53 km (33 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ottawa County |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 67 km (42 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ellsworth County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 3 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.7 4 km WSW of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.6 0 km SSW of Assaria, Kansas
- 3.5 6 km WSW of Woodbine, Kansas
- 2.5 3 km NNW of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.4 0 km N of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.5 4 km SSE of Smolan, Kansas
- 2.2 5 km N of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.5 4 km E of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.7 3 km SSE of Solomon, Kansas
- 2.5 4 km W of Bennington, Kansas
- 3.4 6 km NNE of Bennington, Kansas
- 3.1 7 km E of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.6 7 km NNE of Bennington, Kansas
- 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
- 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.