explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Tualatin, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Tualatin in the 24 hours to 5:03 pm PST (01:03 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 4 km (3 mi) SSE, at 1:25 pm PST on 2 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Tualatin
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 explosion was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tualatin, OR, at 12:22 pm PDT on 16 October 2020 (19:22 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 3 km SW of Tualatin, Oregon
22 km (14 mi) SSW of Portland, OR · 7 km (4 mi) S of Tigard, OR
- When
- 12:22 pm PDT on 16 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Tualatin, OR · earthquakes near Tualatin
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Washington County, 32 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2215 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tualatin, 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Tualatin, 3 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: King City, Sherwood, Durham, Wilsonville, Stafford, Tigard.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon · 39 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 5 km E of Bridgeton, Oregon · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km SW of Portland, Oregon · 17 km NNE of this epicentre
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 45.3605, -122.7863. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, OR | 32 km (20 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Multnomah County, OR | 36 km (22 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Multnomah County |
| Yamhill County, OR | 43 km (27 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Yamhill County |
| Clackamas County, OR | 51 km (32 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Clackamas County |
| Clark County, WA | 51 km (32 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Clark County |
| Marion County, OR | 54 km (33 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Marion 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.
- 1.8 8 km S of Scappoose, Oregon
- 1.7 13 km ESE of Scotts Mills, Oregon
- 1.7 8 km SE of Molalla, 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 8 km SW of Aloha, 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.