QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Coquille, OR

USGS: 5 km ESE of Coquille, Oregon

12:47 pm PDT, May 12, 2021 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Coos County 3 kmCurry County 78 kmDouglas County 79 kmJosephine County 97 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
12:47 pm PDT on 12 May 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) ESE of Coquille, OR · earthquakes near Coquille
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Coos County, 3 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
South Slough syncline, 15 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 572 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) ESE of Coquille, OR, at 12:47 pm PDT on 12 May 2021 (19:47 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Myrtle Point, Bunker Hill, Coos Bay, Bandon, Barview, North Bend.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. 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 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 43.1667, -124.1163. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Coos County, OR 3 km (2 mi) NE earthquakes near Coos County
Curry County, OR 78 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Curry County
Douglas County, OR 79 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Douglas County
Josephine County, OR 97 km (61 mi) SSE earthquakes near Josephine County
Lane County, OR 130 km (81 mi) NE earthquakes near Lane County
Jackson County, OR 144 km (90 mi) SE earthquakes near Jackson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 12 km ENE of Glasgow, Oregon
  2. 2.3 19 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  3. 2.2 22 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  4. 2.3 21 km WSW of Barview, Oregon
  5. 2.6 10 km NW of Langlois, Oregon
  6. 1.5 9 km WSW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  7. 1.8 28 km E of Glasgow, Oregon
  8. 1.5 15 km ESE of Myrtle Point, Oregon
  9. 1.5 5 km ESE of Coquille, Oregon
  10. 1.5 8 km SW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  11. 1.5 18 km ENE of Powers, Oregon
  12. 2.4 6 km NE of Bandon, Oregon
  13. 1.5 11 km E of Glasgow, Oregon
  14. 2.0 21 km WSW of Bandon, Oregon
  15. 1.6 4 km W of Powers, 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.