QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Myrtle Creek, OR

USGS: 3 km E of Myrtle Creek, Oregon

2:08 pm PDT, Mar 30, 2021 · · -0.8 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 30 kmCoos County 71 kmJosephine County 75 kmJackson County 82 kmCurry County 100 kmLane County 105 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
2:08 pm PDT on 30 March 2021 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) E of Myrtle Creek, OR · earthquakes near Myrtle Creek
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-0.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 30 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2012 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) E of Myrtle Creek, OR, at 2:08 pm PDT on 30 March 2021 (21:08 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Tri-City, Canyonville, Riddle, Winston, Green, Roseburg.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. 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.

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 43.0215, -123.2502. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, OR 30 km (19 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Coos County, OR 71 km (44 mi) WNW earthquakes near Coos County
Josephine County, OR 75 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Josephine County
Jackson County, OR 82 km (51 mi) SE earthquakes near Jackson County
Curry County, OR 100 km (62 mi) SW earthquakes near Curry County
Lane County, OR 105 km (65 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 8 km SW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  2. 0.9 15 km NE of Wimer, Oregon
  3. 1.1 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  4. 1.6 6 km W of Riddle, Oregon
  5. 1.6 5 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  6. 1.5 9 km WSW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  7. 1.6 5 km SE of Dillard, Oregon
  8. 1.8 5 km NNW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  9. 1.5 8 km SW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  10. 1.6 24 km N of Trail, Oregon
  11. 1.6 16 km NNE of Wimer, Oregon
  12. 1.6 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  13. 1.7 21 km E of Days Creek, Oregon
  14. 1.7 6 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  15. 1.5 8 km SW of Lookingglass, 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.