QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Ashland, OR

USGS: 18 km SW of Ashland, Oregon

30 km (19 mi) S of Medford, OR

1:40 am PDT, May 1, 2020 · · 3.5 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jackson County 41 kmSiskiyou County 59 kmJosephine County 70 kmDel Norte County 100 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
1:40 am PDT on 1 May 2020 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) SW of Ashland, OR · earthquakes near Ashland
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
3.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jackson County, 41 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2342 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) SW of Ashland, OR, at 1:40 am PDT on 1 May 2020 (08:40 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Jacksonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 42.0622, -122.8462. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jackson County, OR 41 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Jackson County
Siskiyou County, CA 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Josephine County, OR 70 km (43 mi) WNW earthquakes near Josephine County
Del Norte County, CA 100 km (62 mi) WSW earthquakes near Del Norte County
Klamath County, OR 120 km (75 mi) NE earthquakes near Klamath County
Curry County, OR 121 km (75 mi) WNW earthquakes near Curry County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 6 km NE of Medford, Oregon
  2. 1.6 8 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  3. 2.0 19 km SSW of Ashland, Oregon
  4. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  5. 1.5 7 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  6. 1.6 6 km W of Central Point, Oregon
  7. 1.5 9 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  8. 1.8 6 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
  9. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  10. 1.9 8 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  11. 1.6 9 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  12. 2.0 6 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  13. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  14. 1.9 5 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  15. 1.5 22 km E of Ashland, 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.