explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Medford, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Medford in the 24 hours to 3:55 am PST (11:55 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 6 km (3 mi) ENE, at 4:47 pm PDT on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Medford
No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Medford, OR, at 1:50 pm PST on 29 December 2020 (21:50 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Oregon
13 km (8 mi) WNW of Medford, OR
- When
- 1:50 pm PST on 29 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Medford, OR · earthquakes near Medford
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- -0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Jackson County, 27 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2142 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Medford, 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Medford, 12 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: Central Point, Gold Hill, Jacksonville, Rogue River, White City, Phoenix.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- 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 42.3772, -123.0033. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, OR | 27 km (17 mi) | E | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Josephine County, OR | 47 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Josephine County |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Siskiyou County |
| Curry County, OR | 100 km (62 mi) | W | earthquakes near Curry County |
| Douglas County, OR | 102 km (63 mi) | N | earthquakes near Douglas County |
| Del Norte County, CA | 107 km (66 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Del Norte County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 7 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
- 1.6 6 km W of Central Point, Oregon
- 1.6 16 km NNE of Wimer, Oregon
- 1.6 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
- 1.5 9 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
- 1.8 6 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
- 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
- 1.9 8 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
- 1.6 9 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
- 1.7 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
- 1.5 2 km WSW of Rogue River, Oregon
- 1.8 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
- 2.0 6 km SSE of White City, Oregon
- 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
- 2.0 7 km S of Shady Cove, 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.