QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Eagle Point, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Eagle Point in the 24 hours to 3:41 am PST (11:41 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 5 km (3 mi) SE, at 1:04 pm PDT on 20 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Eagle Point

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 4 km (2 mi) southeast of Eagle Point, OR, at 3:41 pm PDT on 9 October 2020 (22:41 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon

14 km (9 mi) NNE of Medford, OR

3:41 pm PDT, Oct 9, 2020 · · -1.1 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jackson County 9 kmJosephine County 66 kmKlamath County 96 kmSiskiyou County 98 kmDouglas County 98 kmCurry County 118 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
3:41 pm PDT on 9 October 2020 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) southeast of Eagle Point, OR · earthquakes near Eagle Point
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jackson County, 9 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2225 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Eagle Point, 4 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: White City, Central Point, Medford, Shady Cove, Phoenix, Jacksonville.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 42.4487, -122.7693. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jackson County, OR 9 km (5 mi) ESE earthquakes near Jackson County
Josephine County, OR 66 km (41 mi) W earthquakes near Josephine County
Klamath County, OR 96 km (59 mi) ENE earthquakes near Klamath County
Siskiyou County, CA 98 km (61 mi) SSE earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Douglas County, OR 98 km (61 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Curry County, OR 118 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Curry County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  2. 1.9 8 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  3. 1.6 9 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  4. 1.7 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
  5. 1.5 2 km WSW of Rogue River, Oregon
  6. 1.8 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
  7. 2.0 6 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  8. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  9. 2.0 7 km S of Shady Cove, Oregon
  10. 1.9 5 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  11. 1.5 22 km E of Ashland, Oregon
  12. 1.5 6 km W of Central Point, Oregon
  13. 1.9 17 km SW of Ashland, Oregon
  14. 1.8 6 km NNW of Eagle Point, Oregon
  15. 1.8 6 km SE of White City, 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.