Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Salem, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Salem in the 24 hours to 11:30 am PST (19:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 18 km (11 mi) NNW, at 7:58 am PST on 23 November 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 228 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Salem
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Salem, OR, at 11:56 pm PDT on 30 August 2020 (06:56 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: Washington-Oregon border region
58 km (36 mi) S of Portland, OR · 34 km (21 mi) ENE of Salem, OR
- When
- 11:56 pm PDT on 30 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) east-northeast of Salem, OR · earthquakes near Salem
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Marion County, 13 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Mount Angel fault, 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 2264 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Salem, 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Salem, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Silverton, Molalla, Mount Angel, Mulino, Woodburn, Hubbard.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 45.0190, -122.6155. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, OR | 13 km (8 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Clackamas County, OR | 37 km (23 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Clackamas County |
| Linn County, OR | 59 km (37 mi) | S | earthquakes near Linn County |
| Yamhill County, OR | 61 km (38 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Yamhill County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 61 km (38 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Polk County, OR | 63 km (39 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Polk County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.8 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.7 8 km SE of Molalla, Oregon
- 2.0 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Sherwood, Oregon
- 2.0 2 km WNW of Molalla, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Silverton, Oregon
- 1.9 3 km NNE of Hubbard, Oregon
- 1.7 Washington-Oregon border region
- 1.7 5 km SSW of Saint Paul, Oregon
- 1.5 7 km ESE of Estacada, Oregon
- 1.7 8 km E of Molalla, Oregon
- 1.6 5 km E of Hubbard, Oregon
- 1.5 6 km SE of Molalla, Oregon
- 1.8 3 km W of Saint Paul, 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
- 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.