explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Salem, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Salem in the 24 hours to 2:48 am PST (10:48 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
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 explosion was recorded 39 km (24 mi) south-southeast of Salem, OR, at 10:24 am PDT on 22 October 2020 (17:24 UTC), less than 1 km deep.
USGS: 5 km E of Crabtree, Oregon
21 km (13 mi) E of Albany, OR · 102 km (63 mi) S of Portland, OR
- When
- 10:24 am PDT on 22 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) south-southeast of Salem, OR · earthquakes near Salem
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Linn County, 28 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2208 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Salem, 39 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Lebanon, South Lebanon, Jefferson, Millersburg, Stayton, Albany.
USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.6 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon · 49 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 44.6273, -122.8283. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linn County, OR | 28 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Linn County |
| Marion County, OR | 36 km (23 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Benton County, OR | 50 km (31 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Benton County |
| Polk County, OR | 54 km (34 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Clackamas County, OR | 77 km (48 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Clackamas County |
| Lane County, OR | 78 km (48 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lane County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 Oregon
- 2.1 Oregon
- 2.0 3 km ENE of Millersburg, Oregon
- 1.6 5 km SSW of Scotts Mills, Oregon
- 1.6 5 km N of Waterloo, Oregon
- 1.7 2 km NW of Sweet Home, Oregon
- 1.6 4 km E of Lebanon, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km WNW of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.8 2 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.8 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 2.0 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
- 1.9 6 km ENE of Lebanon, Oregon
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Silverton, Oregon
- 1.8 9 km WSW of Cascadia, Oregon
- 1.6 2 km S of Waterloo, 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.