QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Tillamook, OR

USGS: 22 km ENE of Tillamook, Oregon

72 km (45 mi) W of Portland, OR · 49 km (31 mi) W of Hillsboro, OR

12:51 pm PDT, Oct 8, 2018 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tillamook County 17 kmYamhill County 37 kmWashington County 37 kmClatsop County 57 kmColumbia County 60 kmPolk County 71 kmWahkiakum County 86 kmClark County 89 kmMultnomah County 90 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
12:51 pm PDT on 8 October 2018 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) ENE of Tillamook, OR · earthquakes near Tillamook
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tillamook County, 17 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 559 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) ENE of Tillamook, OR, at 12:51 pm PDT on 8 October 2018 (19:51 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Bay City.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 45.5240, -123.5698. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tillamook County, OR 17 km (10 mi) WSW earthquakes near Tillamook County
Yamhill County, OR 37 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yamhill County
Washington County, OR 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Washington County
Clatsop County, OR 57 km (35 mi) N earthquakes near Clatsop County
Columbia County, OR 60 km (37 mi) NE earthquakes near Columbia County
Polk County, OR 71 km (44 mi) S earthquakes near Polk County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 17 km WNW of Banks, Oregon
  2. 1.5 5 km ENE of Sheridan, Oregon
  3. 1.7 4 km NE of Lafayette, Oregon
  4. 1.5 7 km WNW of Forest Grove, Oregon
  5. 2.0 4 km WSW of Wheeler, Oregon
  6. 1.5 8 km W of Yamhill, Oregon
  7. 1.6 9 km NNE of Sheridan, Oregon
  8. 1.9 10 km NNE of Sheridan, Oregon
  9. 1.7 13 km N of Willamina, Oregon
  10. 2.4 10 km N of Sheridan, Oregon
  11. 1.6 3 km WNW of Lafayette, Oregon
  12. 1.8 1 km NNW of Dayton, Oregon
  13. 1.7 11 km WNW of Beaver, Oregon
  14. 1.8 4 km NE of Lafayette, Oregon
  15. 1.6 10 km SW of Vernonia, 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.