QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Newport, OR

USGS: 12 km W of Yachats, Oregon

95 km (59 mi) WNW of Eugene, OR

7:30 am PST, Dec 3, 2016 · · 20 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 45 kmBenton County 69 kmPolk County 94 kmLane County 117 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
7:30 am PST on 3 December 2016 ()
Where
39 km (24 mi) SSW of Newport, OR · earthquakes near Newport
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 45 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Cascadia fold and fault belt, 3 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 3588 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) SSW of Newport, OR, at 7:30 am PST on 3 December 2016 (15:30 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Waldport.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 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 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 44.3148, -124.2553. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, OR 45 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Benton County, OR 69 km (43 mi) ENE earthquakes near Benton County
Polk County, OR 94 km (58 mi) NE earthquakes near Polk County
Lane County, OR 117 km (72 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lane County
Yamhill County, OR 127 km (79 mi) NE earthquakes near Yamhill County
Douglas County, OR 145 km (90 mi) SE earthquakes near Douglas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 23 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  2. 1.9 16 km SSE of Toledo, Oregon
  3. 2.8 57 km W of Waldport, Oregon
  4. 2.7 27 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  5. 1.6 18 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  6. 1.7 41 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  7. 2.3 29 km W of Waldport, Oregon
  8. 1.8 27 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  9. 1.7 26 km W of Newport, Oregon
  10. 1.9 29 km W of Newport, Oregon
  11. 1.9 12 km E of Toledo, Oregon
  12. 3.1 39 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  13. 1.5 28 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  14. 1.9 30 km W of Yachats, Oregon
  15. 1.8 31 km W of Yachats, 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.