QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Enterprise, OR

USGS: 6 km NE of Enterprise, Oregon

3:14 pm PDT, Oct 3, 2016 · · 3.7 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Enterprise Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Wallowa County 14 kmUnion County 63 kmAsotin County 80 kmAdams County 89 kmBaker County 92 kmNez Perce County 103 kmLewis County 106 kmColumbia County 106 kmGarfield County 110 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
3:14 pm PDT on 3 October 2016 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) NE of Enterprise, OR · earthquakes near Enterprise
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
3.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Wallowa County, 14 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3650 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) NE of Enterprise, OR, at 3:14 pm PDT on 3 October 2016 (22:14 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Joseph.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 45.4662, -117.2223. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Wallowa County, OR 14 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wallowa County
Union County, OR 63 km (39 mi) WSW earthquakes near Union County
Asotin County, WA 80 km (49 mi) N earthquakes near Asotin County
Adams County, ID 89 km (55 mi) SE earthquakes near Adams County
Baker County, OR 92 km (57 mi) SSW earthquakes near Baker County
Nez Perce County, ID 103 km (64 mi) NNE earthquakes near Nez Perce County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 3 km SSE of Wallowa, Oregon
  2. 2.1 17 km NNW of Halfway, Oregon
  3. 2.1 19 km NNW of Halfway, Oregon
  4. 1.6 13 km SW of Lostine, Oregon
  5. 1.6 21 km ESE of Cove, Oregon
  6. 2.0 15 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  7. 1.6 14 km NE of Cove, Oregon
  8. 2.1 17 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  9. 2.0 15 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  10. 1.5 17 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  11. 1.8 16 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  12. 1.8 16 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  13. 2.2 15 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  14. 2.7 12 km WSW of Lostine, Oregon
  15. 1.7 12 km WSW of Lostine, 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.