Some quakes are human-made
A state with almost no history of quakes became one of the shakiest.
For a few years Oklahoma had more magnitude 3 earthquakes than California. The cause was largely underground: wastewater from oil and gas production, injected deep, raised fluid pressure on old faults and let them slip. Change the injection, and the rate changes too.
What is happening at Oklahoma
Injecting large volumes of fluid deep underground can raise the pressure in the pores of the rock, effectively unclamping faults that were already stressed and letting them move. Geologists call this induced seismicity.
Oklahoma is the textbook case. Its earthquake rate climbed steeply as injection volumes grew, then fell after regulators cut back injection - a rare instance where a seismic trend responded to a policy change.
The hazard record here
YOUR AREA
About 5 earthquakes a year happens within 250 km of here.
Live figures from the QuakeMate hazard API - USGS earthquake catalog, NOAA tsunami database and published recurrence estimates. Some fields are blank where there is no record.
Recent earthquakes at Oklahoma
- 1.12 km NE of Meridian, Oklahoma1 day ago · 31/07/2026, 04:36:09 · 7 km deep
- 1.14 km NE of Coyle, Oklahoma2 weeks ago · 12/07/2026, 15:51:16 · 6 km deep
- 0.91 km ESE of Marshall, Oklahoma2 weeks ago · 15/07/2026, 04:06:01 · 6 km deep
- 1.95 km S of Lucien, Oklahoma3 days ago · 29/07/2026, 09:14:41 · 18 km deep
- 1.04 km SSW of Marshall, Oklahoma3 weeks ago · 10/07/2026, 04:03:07 · 6 km deep
- 0.810 km E of Kingfisher, Oklahoma1 week ago · 19/07/2026, 23:20:56 · 7 km deep
94 more earthquakes at Oklahoma
Open the QuakeMate app to see every quake here, sorted and mapped - plus real-time alerts when a new one strikes.
Notable events
2011
A damaging M5.6 quake near Prague was linked to fluid injection.
2016
The M5.8 Pawnee quake became the state’s largest on record.
What scientists watch
Researchers and state regulators tie earthquake rates to injection volumes and depths, adjusting rules to bring the rate down.
Staying ahead of it
Induced quakes can start with little precedent in an area - alerts fill the gap where local instinct says "earthquakes don’t happen here."
Get QuakeMate freeGet warned before the next one at Oklahoma.
QuakeMate sends a push the instant the ground moves - plus tsunami and volcano alerts. Free to download.
Oklahoma: common questions
Can humans cause earthquakes?
Indirectly, yes. Injecting fluid deep underground can raise pressure on faults that are already stressed and trigger them. Oklahoma’s surge in earthquakes was strongly linked to wastewater injection.
Are Oklahoma earthquakes decreasing?
The rate dropped markedly after injection volumes were reduced, showing how closely the two were tied. Activity continues, so real-time alerts still matter.
Related hazard zones
Earthquake data via the QuakeMate API (USGS, EMSC and regional agencies). Historical notes summarise well-established events; magnitudes and dates follow the published record. Live figures may be revised.