QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Newport, OR

USGS: 4 km NW of Newport, Oregon

6:00 pm PDT, Mar 26, 2020 · · 18 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 14 kmBenton County 56 kmPolk County 60 kmYamhill County 88 kmTillamook County 91 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
6:00 pm PDT on 26 March 2020 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) NW of Newport, OR · earthquakes near Newport
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 14 km ESE
Nearest mapped fault
Cascadia fold and fault belt, 5 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 2380 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) NW of Newport, OR, at 6:00 pm PDT on 26 March 2020 (01:00 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Agate Beach, Toledo, Siletz, Depoe Bay, Lincoln Beach, Waldport.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 44.6677, -124.0845. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, OR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Benton County, OR 56 km (35 mi) ESE earthquakes near Benton County
Polk County, OR 60 km (37 mi) ENE earthquakes near Polk County
Yamhill County, OR 88 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Yamhill County
Tillamook County, OR 91 km (57 mi) NNE earthquakes near Tillamook County
Marion County, OR 122 km (76 mi) ENE earthquakes near Marion County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 11 km ESE of Rose Lodge, Oregon
  2. 2.2 25 km W of Newport, Oregon
  3. 2.0 5 km NE of Lincoln Beach, Oregon
  4. 1.9 23 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  5. 2.5 26 km WNW of Lincoln City, Oregon
  6. 1.9 16 km SSE of Toledo, Oregon
  7. 1.7 1 km W of Siletz, Oregon
  8. 1.7 5 km SE of Rose Lodge, Oregon
  9. 2.0 10 km E of Lincoln Beach, Oregon
  10. 1.7 13 km N of Summit, Oregon
  11. 2.3 1 km NNE of Lincoln Beach, Oregon
  12. 2.0 0 km NE of Rose Lodge, Oregon
  13. 2.7 27 km WNW of Yachats, Oregon
  14. 1.6 15 km SSE of Rose Lodge, Oregon
  15. 1.8 9 km ESE of Rose Lodge, 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.