Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0ml
Earthquake near Salem, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Salem in the 24 hours to 8:07 am PST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 18 km (11 mi) NNW, at 7:58 am PST on 23 November 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 228 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salem
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Salem, OR, at 5:24 pm PST on 13 December 2017 (01:24 UTC), 17 km deep. 4,616 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon
56 km (35 mi) S of Portland, OR · 36 km (22 mi) ENE of Salem, OR
- When
- 5:24 pm PST on 13 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 36 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Salem, OR · earthquakes near Salem
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4,616 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Marion County, 15 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mount Angel fault, 7 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 2937 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salem, OR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 92 km (57 mi) from the epicentre. In Salem, 36 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Molalla, Silverton, Mount Angel, Mulino, Hubbard, Woodburn.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 13 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 13,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 13 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 28× more
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon · 1 km W of this epicentre
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 45.0353, -122.5993. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OR | 15 km (9 mi) | S | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Clackamas County, OR | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Clackamas County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 59 km (36 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Linn County, OR | 61 km (38 mi) | S | earthquakes near Linn County |
| Yamhill County, OR | 61 km (38 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Yamhill County |
| Polk County, OR | 65 km (40 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Polk County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon
- 2.2 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.8 Washington-Oregon border region
- 1.6 7 km E of Molalla, Oregon
- 1.6 2 km E of Sherwood, Oregon
- 1.9 5 km SE of Silverton, Oregon
- 1.5 3 km SSW of Beaverton, Oregon
- 1.8 9 km ESE of Scotts Mills, OR
- 1.9 3 km WSW of Dundee, Oregon
- 1.8 8 km SE of Molalla, Oregon
- 2.0 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 2.4 3 km WNW of Molalla, Oregon
- 2.6 6 km ESE of Scotts Mills, Oregon
- 1.5 4 km W of Mulino, Oregon
- 1.7 8 km SE of Molalla, 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.