Small earthquakes occur from time to time in Kansas.
Most are too small for people to feel, but occasionally the state is shaken by a larger quake. The largest known earthquake recorded in Kansas occurred in 1867 and was centered near Wamego in Pottawatomie County. It would have measured about 5.5 on the Richter Scale and was felt as far away as Dubuque, Iowa. This earthquake, as well as a number of others, have resulted from the movement of faults along the Humboldt Fault Zone, which stretches from about Nemaha County in the north to Cowley County in the south. For more information, see the Survey's Public Information Circular 3 or the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center .