QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Turner, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Turner in the 24 hours to 4:42 am PST (12:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 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 Turner

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 4 km (3 mi) northeast of Turner, OR, at 2:45 pm PDT on 30 July 2018 (21:45 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NE of Turner, Oregon

10 km (6 mi) SE of Salem, OR

2:45 pm PDT, Jul 30, 2018 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Marion County 27 kmPolk County 38 kmYamhill County 52 kmLinn County 52 kmBenton County 58 kmClackamas County 65 kmWashington County 77 kmLincoln County 82 kmMultnomah County 85 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
2:45 pm PDT on 30 July 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) northeast of Turner, OR · earthquakes near Turner
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Marion County, 27 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Mount Angel fault, 23 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 601 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Turner, 4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Aumsville, Four Corners, Sublimity, Salem, Stayton, Hayesville.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon · 31 km NE 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 44.8717, -122.9192. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Marion County, OR 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Marion County
Polk County, OR 38 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Polk County
Yamhill County, OR 52 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Yamhill County
Linn County, OR 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Linn County
Benton County, OR 58 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Benton County
Clackamas County, OR 65 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Clackamas 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.

  1. 1.7 3 km SW of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  2. 1.7 7 km SE of Crabtree, Oregon
  3. 2.0 7 km ESE of Molalla, Oregon
  4. 1.8 1 km ESE of Butteville, Oregon
  5. 1.6 4 km NNW of Waterloo, Oregon
  6. 1.8 5 km E of Crabtree, Oregon
  7. 1.8 5 km E of Silverton, Oregon
  8. 2.0 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  9. 2.2 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
  10. 1.8 Washington-Oregon border region
  11. 1.6 7 km E of Molalla, Oregon
  12. 1.9 5 km SE of Silverton, Oregon
  13. 1.8 9 km ESE of Scotts Mills, OR
  14. 1.7 6 km SSE of Lacomb, Oregon
  15. 1.9 3 km WSW of Dundee, 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.