QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Roseburg North, OR

USGS: 6 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon

85 km (53 mi) SSW of Eugene, OR

1:57 pm PDT, Jul 31, 2020 · · -0.4 km deep · released about 6.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 16 kmCoos County 62 kmLane County 78 kmJosephine County 104 kmJackson County 114 kmCurry County 117 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
1:57 pm PDT on 31 July 2020 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) N of Roseburg North, OR · earthquakes near Roseburg North
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 16 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2253 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) N of Roseburg North, OR, at 1:57 pm PDT on 31 July 2020 (20:57 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sutherlin, Roseburg, Green, Glide, Winston.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 43.3070, -123.3523. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, OR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Douglas County
Coos County, OR 62 km (38 mi) WSW earthquakes near Coos County
Lane County, OR 78 km (49 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lane County
Josephine County, OR 104 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near Josephine County
Jackson County, OR 114 km (71 mi) SSE earthquakes near Jackson County
Curry County, OR 117 km (73 mi) SW 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. 1.7 30 km E of Bunker Hill, Oregon
  2. 1.7 27 km ESE of Lakeside, Oregon
  3. 1.7 1 km S of Drain, Oregon
  4. 2.0 4 km E of Roseburg, Oregon
  5. 2.0 3 km SW of Drain, Oregon
  6. 1.9 5 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  7. 1.6 13 km WNW of Sutherlin, Oregon
  8. 1.7 13 km S of Culp Creek, Oregon
  9. 1.5 20 km W of Riddle, Oregon
  10. 1.6 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  11. 1.6 2 km SW of Drain, Oregon
  12. 1.7 4 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  13. 1.5 0 km ESE of Dillard, Oregon
  14. 1.5 4 km ESE of Fair Oaks, Oregon
  15. 1.6 10 km SE of Glide, 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.