QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Coos Bay, OR

USGS: 9 km ENE of Glasgow, Oregon

4:07 pm PDT, May 28, 2020 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Coos County 32 kmDouglas County 80 kmLane County 110 kmCurry County 113 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
4:07 pm PDT on 28 May 2020 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) NE of Coos Bay, OR · earthquakes near Coos Bay
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Coos County, 32 km S
Nearest mapped fault
South Slough thrust and reverse faults, 15 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 2317 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) NE of Coos Bay, OR, at 4:07 pm PDT on 28 May 2020 (23:07 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: North Bend, Lakeside, Bunker Hill, Barview, Reedsport.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 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 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 43.4760, -124.1097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Coos County, OR 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Coos County
Douglas County, OR 80 km (50 mi) ESE earthquakes near Douglas County
Lane County, OR 110 km (68 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lane County
Curry County, OR 113 km (70 mi) S earthquakes near Curry County
Benton County, OR 126 km (78 mi) NNE earthquakes near Benton County
Jackson County, OR 166 km (103 mi) SE earthquakes near Jackson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 12 km ENE of Glasgow, Oregon
  2. 2.3 19 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  3. 2.2 22 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  4. 2.3 21 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  5. 1.8 28 km E of Glasgow, Oregon
  6. 1.5 5 km ESE of Coquille, Oregon
  7. 2.1 21 km NW of Winchester Bay, Oregon
  8. 2.4 6 km NE of Bandon, Oregon
  9. 1.5 11 km E of Glasgow, Oregon
  10. 1.6 21 km ESE of Reedsport, Oregon
  11. 1.7 30 km E of Bunker Hill, Oregon
  12. 1.7 27 km ESE of Lakeside, Oregon
  13. 1.9 6 km NNW of Bandon, Oregon
  14. 1.7 8 km N of Bandon, Oregon
  15. 1.9 22 km ESE of Reedsport, 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.