QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Cottage Grove, OR

USGS: 13 km ENE of Cottage Grove, Oregon

31 km (19 mi) SE of Eugene, OR · 26 km (16 mi) SSE of Springfield, OR

12:39 pm PST, Dec 26, 2017 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lane County 11 kmDouglas County 64 kmLinn County 79 kmBenton County 85 kmCoos County 120 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
12:39 pm PST on 26 December 2017 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) ENE of Cottage Grove, OR · earthquakes near Cottage Grove
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lane County, 11 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3199 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) ENE of Cottage Grove, OR, at 12:39 pm PST on 26 December 2017 (20:39 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lowell, Creswell, Culp Creek, Springfield, Eugene.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 43.8305, -122.9020. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lane County, OR 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Lane County
Douglas County, OR 64 km (40 mi) SSW earthquakes near Douglas County
Linn County, OR 79 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Linn County
Benton County, OR 85 km (53 mi) NNW earthquakes near Benton County
Coos County, OR 120 km (75 mi) SW earthquakes near Coos County
Lincoln County, OR 121 km (75 mi) NW earthquakes near Lincoln 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. 1.6 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. 1.8 1 km SSE of Springfield, Oregon
  6. 1.7 2 km SW of Drain, Oregon
  7. 1.5 13 km WNW of Cottage Grove, Oregon
  8. 1.6 21 km NE of Glide, Oregon
  9. 1.6 15 km SSE of Holley, Oregon
  10. 1.9 6 km SE of Creswell, Oregon
  11. 1.6 8 km SW of Cottage Grove, Oregon
  12. 1.7 15 km NNE of Unity, Oregon
  13. 2.2 12 km NE of Fair Oaks, Oregon
  14. 1.8 25 km SE of Holley, Oregon
  15. 1.6 3 km SE of Coburg, 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.