QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Baker City, OR

USGS: 11 km NE of Baker City, Oregon

1:09 pm PDT, Aug 24, 2021 · · 19 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Baker County 16 kmUnion County 55 kmWashington County 87 kmWallowa County 93 kmAdams County 100 kmGrant County 108 kmUmatilla County 114 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
1:09 pm PDT on 24 August 2021 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) NE of Baker City, OR · earthquakes near Baker City
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Baker County, 16 km SSE
Nearest mapped fault
West Baker Valley fault, 7 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 1863 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) NE of Baker City, OR, at 1:09 pm PDT on 24 August 2021 (20:09 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 44.8482, -117.7360. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Baker County, OR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Baker County
Union County, OR 55 km (34 mi) NNW earthquakes near Union County
Washington County, ID 87 km (54 mi) ESE earthquakes near Washington County
Wallowa County, OR 93 km (58 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wallowa County
Adams County, ID 100 km (62 mi) E earthquakes near Adams County
Grant County, OR 108 km (67 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grant County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 29 km SW of Richland, Oregon
  2. 2.0 2 km NNW of North Powder, Oregon
  3. 1.8 25 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  4. 2.0 28 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  5. 1.7 27 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  6. 2.1 24 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  7. 1.7 25 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  8. 1.8 27 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  9. 2.2 27 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  10. 1.6 23 km NNW of Huntington, Oregon
  11. 1.7 24 km NNW of Huntington, Oregon
  12. 1.9 22 km NNW of Huntington, Oregon
  13. 1.7 23 km NNW of Huntington, Oregon
  14. 1.6 24 km NW of Huntington, Oregon
  15. 1.9 26 km SW of Richland, 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.