QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Baker City, OR

USGS: 6 km NNW of Haines, Oregon

10:28 am PDT, Jun 9, 2016 · · -1.2 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Baker County 36 kmUnion County 38 kmUmatilla County 92 kmWallowa County 92 kmGrant County 98 kmWashington County 109 kmAdams County 119 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
10:28 am PDT on 9 June 2016 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) NNW of Baker City, OR · earthquakes near Baker City
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
-1.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Baker County, 36 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
West Baker Valley fault, 10 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 558 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) NNW of Baker City, OR, at 10:28 am PDT on 9 June 2016 (17:28 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Union.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 44.9673, -117.9617. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Baker County, OR 36 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Baker County
Union County, OR 38 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Union County
Umatilla County, OR 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Umatilla County
Wallowa County, OR 92 km (57 mi) NE earthquakes near Wallowa County
Grant County, OR 98 km (61 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grant County
Washington County, ID 109 km (67 mi) ESE earthquakes near Washington County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km NNW of North Powder, Oregon
  2. 2.1 19 km NE of Baker City, Oregon
  3. 2.6 24 km ENE of Baker City, Oregon
  4. 2.4 17 km SE of Baker City, Oregon
  5. 1.6 6 km WSW of La Grande, Oregon
  6. 1.9 15 km SE of Baker City, Oregon
  7. 1.8 10 km SE of La Grande, Oregon
  8. 1.6 21 km ESE of Cove, Oregon
  9. 2.5 17 km SE of Baker City, Oregon
  10. 1.9 16 km SE of Baker City, Oregon
  11. 1.7 10 km SSE of Baker City, Oregon
  12. 2.3 Oregon-Idaho border region
  13. 2.1 19 km SSW of La Grande, Oregon
  14. 1.6 6 km NNW of Haines, Oregon
  15. 2.2 27 km SE of Baker City, 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.