QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Joseph, OR

USGS: 38 km NE of Halfway, Oregon

5:56 am PST, Dec 2, 2020 · · 12 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Joseph Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Adams County 35 kmWallowa County 63 kmWashington County 74 kmBaker County 87 kmValley County 94 kmUnion County 100 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
5:56 am PST on 2 December 2020 ()
Where
46 km (28 mi) SE of Joseph, OR · earthquakes near Joseph
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Adams County, 35 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2130 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) SE of Joseph, OR, at 5:56 am PST on 2 December 2020 (13:56 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 lb of TNT

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 45.1158, -116.7527. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Adams County, ID 35 km (22 mi) SE earthquakes near Adams County
Wallowa County, OR 63 km (39 mi) NNW earthquakes near Wallowa County
Washington County, ID 74 km (46 mi) S earthquakes near Washington County
Baker County, OR 87 km (54 mi) WSW earthquakes near Baker County
Valley County, ID 94 km (58 mi) ESE earthquakes near Valley County
Union County, OR 100 km (62 mi) WNW earthquakes near Union County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

19 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.3 9 km E of Halfway, Oregon
  2. 2.1 17 km NNW of Halfway, Oregon
  3. 1.9 17 km NW of New Meadows, Idaho
  4. 2.1 19 km NNW of Halfway, Oregon
  5. 2.4 16 km E of Richland, Oregon
  6. 2.2 11 km ESE of Halfway, Oregon
  7. 1.5 20 km NW of New Meadows, Idaho
  8. 2.0 17 km NW of New Meadows, Idaho
  9. 2.4 21 km NW of New Meadows, Idaho
  10. 2.3 13 km NNW of New Meadows, Idaho
  11. 1.9 23 km ESE of Halfway, Oregon
  12. 2.3 19 km NW of New Meadows, Idaho
  13. 2.0 33 km NE of Halfway, Oregon
  14. 1.8 11 km ESE of Halfway, Oregon
  15. 2.3 15 km SE of Halfway, Oregon

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.