Kansas earthquakes

M3.1 earthquake 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck 6 km ENE of Caldwell, Kansas on Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 9:19 PM CDT (02:19 UTC), 6 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.8 14 km NW of Pawnee, Oklahoma. This one was a foreshock.

Caldwell forecast More in Kansas

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.1 (ML, local (Richter)), minor
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Wed, Aug 31, 2016, 9:19 PM CDT
UTC: 2016-09-01 02:19:51 UTC
Depth: 5.6 km (3.5 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 37.055° N, 97.537° W
Region: Kansas
Felt reports: 1
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.1	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · ±0.224 · 19 stations
3.06	ML, local (Richter)	ISMPKANSAS	Final · ±0.224 · 19 stations

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at Caldwell.

From the USGS event page for us10006j74. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

1 person reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 1.0 km horizontally, 6.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty: ±0.22
Station coverage gap: 103°
Stations used: 38

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: at least 200 in the 60 days after this one and 105 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 200.

Before

Earthquakes today Kansas earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event us10006j74 (also filed as ismpkansas70205238). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 1:56 PM UTC.