explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7ml
Earthquake near Prineville, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Prineville in the 24 hours to 10:22 am PST (18:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 6 km (4 mi) SW, at 9:02 am PDT on 28 May 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Prineville
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 2.7 explosion was recorded 49 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Prineville, OR, at 11:42 am PST on 6 March 2018 (19:42 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 13 km SW of Mitchell, Oregon
95 km (59 mi) ENE of Bend, OR
- When
- 11:42 am PST on 6 March 2018 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) east-northeast of Prineville, OR · earthquakes near Prineville
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (ml)
- Depth
- -1.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Wheeler County, 35 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3080 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Prineville, OR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Prineville, OR. No account or email needed.
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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Prineville, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 44.4760, -120.2707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeler County, OR | 35 km (22 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Wheeler County |
| Crook County, OR | 36 km (22 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Crook County |
| Jefferson County, OR | 74 km (46 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Deschutes County, OR | 98 km (61 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Deschutes County |
| Grant County, OR | 100 km (62 mi) | E | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Gilliam County, OR | 101 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near Gilliam County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 12 km NNW of Mitchell, Oregon
- 1.8 28 km SE of Prineville, Oregon
- 2.0 8 km W of Mitchell, Oregon
- 2.1 4 km ENE of Prineville, Oregon
- 2.3 8 km NE of Prineville, Oregon
- 2.0 39 km S of Mitchell, Oregon
- 2.2 Oregon
- 2.1 8 km NNE of Prineville, Oregon
- 2.2 3 km NE of Prineville, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km NNE of Prineville, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km E of Prineville, 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.