Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Portland, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Portland in the 24 hours to 12:32 am PST (08:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 110 km (68 mi) S, at 5:52 am PDT on 7 October 2022, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6,105 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Portland
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Portland, OR, at 11:18 pm PST on 24 February 2020 (07:18 UTC), 20 km deep.
USGS: Washington-Oregon border region
21 km (13 mi) WNW of Portland, OR · 13 km (8 mi) NNE of Hillsboro, OR
- When
- 11:18 pm PST on 24 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Portland, OR · earthquakes near Portland
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Washington County, 20 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2453 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Portland, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Portland, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Bethany, Rockcreek, North Plains, Oak Hills, Scappoose, Cedar Mill.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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.
Where
Epicentre 45.6387, -122.8748. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, OR | 20 km (12 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Clark County, WA | 34 km (21 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 37 km (23 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Columbia County, OR | 37 km (23 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Yamhill County, OR | 55 km (34 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Yamhill County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 64 km (40 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 4 km WNW of Dundee, Oregon
- 1.5 7 km ENE of Prescott, Oregon
- 2.8 6 km SW of Aloha, Oregon
- 1.6 1 km SSE of King City, Oregon
- 2.0 4 km SE of Mill Plain, Washington
- 1.6 4 km NNW of Lewisville, Washington
- 2.6 3 km SE of Mill Plain, Washington
- 2.2 1 km SW of Carlton, Oregon
- 1.6 9 km NE of Vernonia, Oregon
- 1.7 1 km WSW of Kalama, Washington
- 1.6 2 km ESE of Lewisville, Washington
- 1.7 2 km WSW of Columbia City, Oregon
- 1.5 2 km SSE of Lewisville, Washington
- 2.0 1 km NNW of Salmon Creek, Washington
- 1.6 Washington-Oregon border region
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.