QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

USGS: 2 km WNW of Hope, Kansas

12:50 pm CDT, Mar 22, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dickinson County 19 kmMarion County 38 kmMorris County 39 kmGeary County 44 kmSaline County 49 kmMcPherson County 58 kmChase County 63 kmOttawa County 68 kmClay County 72 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
12:50 pm CDT on 22 March 2020 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) ESE of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 3.1 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
25 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Dickinson County, 19 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2309 days ago

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) ESE of Salina, KS, at 12:50 pm CDT on 22 March 2020 (17:50 UTC). 25 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: Herington, Abilene.

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 38.6990, -97.1001. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dickinson County, KS 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dickinson County
Marion County, KS 38 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near Marion County
Morris County, KS 39 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near Morris County
Geary County, KS 44 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Geary County
Saline County, KS 49 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Saline County
McPherson County, KS 58 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near McPherson 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. 2.4 6 km SW of Woodbine, Kansas
  2. 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  3. 3.1 5 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  4. 2.7 Kansas
  5. 1.8 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  6. 3.1 4 km ESE of Assaria, Kansas
  7. 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  8. 2.4 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  9. 2.8 4 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  10. 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  11. 2.5 6 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  12. 3.7 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  13. 3.7 6 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  14. 2.0 2 km SSW of Marion, Kansas
  15. 2.7 4 km E of Assaria, 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.