explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Junction City, OR
USGS: 5 km WNW of Junction City, Oregon
24 km (15 mi) NNW of Eugene, OR
- When
- 2:42 pm PST on 4 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Junction City, OR · earthquakes near Junction City
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Benton County, 31 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3223 days ago
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Junction City, OR, at 2:42 pm PST on 4 December 2017 (22:42 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Harrisburg, Coburg, Veneta, Eugene, Brownsville, Springfield.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 44.2422, -123.2623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, OR | 31 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Lane County, OR | 45 km (28 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lane County |
| Linn County, OR | 64 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Linn County |
| Lincoln County, OR | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Polk County, OR | 74 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Marion County, OR | 91 km (57 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Marion County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km N of Waterloo, Oregon
- 1.6 Oregon
- 1.9 5 km N of Waterloo, Oregon
- 1.8 1 km SSE of Springfield, Oregon
- 1.6 4 km WNW of Adair Village, Oregon
- 1.5 13 km WNW of Cottage Grove, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km N of Sweet Home, Oregon
- 1.9 1 km SSE of Sodaville, Oregon
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Lebanon, Oregon
- 1.5 4 km NNW of Sweet Home, Oregon
- 1.6 15 km SSE of Holley, Oregon
- 1.9 6 km SSE of Monroe, Oregon
- 1.9 6 km SE of Creswell, Oregon
- 1.6 7 km NNW of Philomath, Oregon
- 1.8 7 km WNW of Junction 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.