Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1mb_lg
Earthquake near Salina, KS
USGS: 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- When
- 12:17 pm CST on 15 December 2021 ()
- Where
- 22 km (13 mi) SSE of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Saline County, 19 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1681 days ago
A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) SSE of Salina, KS, at 12:17 pm CST on 15 December 2021 (18:17 UTC). 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS. 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 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.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2021-12-08 — about 63 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 38.6693, -97.4940. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saline County, KS | 19 km (12 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Saline County |
| McPherson County, KS | 33 km (21 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near McPherson County |
| Dickinson County, KS | 37 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Dickinson County |
| Marion County, KS | 48 km (30 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Ottawa County, KS | 54 km (34 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ottawa County |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 62 km (38 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.
- 2.6 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 3.5 5 km NNW of Herington, Kansas
- 2.7 2 km SW of Assaria, Kansas
- 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
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.