Earthquake Activity in Oklahoma

Kenneth V. Luza, James E. Lawson, Jr.

Oklahoma is one of the most seismically active areas in the southern Mid-Continent. From 1897 to 1988, over 700 earthquakes are known to have occurred in Oklahoma. The earliest documented Oklahoma earthquake took place on December 2, 1897, near Jefferson, in Grant County. The largest known Oklahoma earthquake happened near El Reno on April 9, 1952. This magnitude 5.5 (mb) earthquake was felt from Austin, Texas, to Des Moines, Iowa, and covered a felt area of approximately 362,000 km².

Prior to 1962, all earthquakes in Oklahoma (59) were either known from historical accounts or from seismograph stations outside the state. Over half of these events were located in Canadian County. In late 1961, the first seismographs were installed in Oklahoma. From 1962 through 1976, 70 additional earthquakes were added to the earthquake database. In 1977, a statewide network of seven semipermanent and three radio-telemetry seismograph stations were installed. The additional stations have improved earthquake detection and location in the state of Oklahoma.

From 1977 to 1988, over 570 additional earthquakes were located in Oklahoma, mostly of magnitudes less than 2.5. Most of these events occurred on the eastern margin of the Anadarko basin along a zone 135 km long by 40 km wide that extends from Canadian County to the southern edge of Garvin County. Another general area of earthquake activity lies along and north of the Ouachita Mountains in the Arkoma basin. A few earthquakes have occurred in the shelves that border the Arkoma and Anadarko basins.

Almost all the historical and recent Oklahoma earthquakes have shallow focal depths (5 km) and define regions that are more seismically active. However, correlation of the earthquake activity with specific structural features remains unclear.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91025©1989 AAPG Midcontinent, Sept. 24-26, 1989, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.