QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Cottage Grove, OR

USGS: 19 km NE of Fair Oaks, Oregon

57 km (35 mi) S of Eugene, OR · 57 km (35 mi) S of Springfield, OR

9:54 am PDT, Aug 8, 2017 · · -0.5 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 30 kmLane County 44 kmCoos County 94 kmBenton County 109 kmLinn County 112 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
9:54 am PDT on 8 August 2017 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) S of Cottage Grove, OR · earthquakes near Cottage Grove
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-0.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 30 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3343 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) S of Cottage Grove, OR, at 9:54 am PDT on 8 August 2017 (16:54 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Yoncalla, Culp Creek, Drain, Sutherlin, Glide.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 43.5477, -123.0475. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, OR 30 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Lane County, OR 44 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lane County
Coos County, OR 94 km (58 mi) WSW earthquakes near Coos County
Benton County, OR 109 km (68 mi) NNW earthquakes near Benton County
Linn County, OR 112 km (70 mi) NNE earthquakes near Linn County
Klamath County, OR 149 km (93 mi) SE earthquakes near Klamath County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  2. 1.6 30 km ENE of Glide, Oregon
  3. 1.5 14 km ENE of Fair Oaks, Oregon
  4. 1.6 2 km SW of Drain, Oregon
  5. 1.5 2 km ESE of Green, Oregon
  6. 1.5 2 km WNW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  7. 1.7 2 km SW of Drain, Oregon
  8. 1.5 13 km WNW of Cottage Grove, Oregon
  9. 1.6 21 km NE of Glide, Oregon
  10. 1.5 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  11. 1.9 6 km SE of Creswell, Oregon
  12. 1.5 6 km NE of Glide, Oregon
  13. 1.6 8 km SW of Cottage Grove, Oregon
  14. 1.7 4 km SSE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  15. 2.2 12 km NE of Fair Oaks, 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.