QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Eugene, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Eugene in the 24 hours to 8:42 pm PST (04:42 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 7 km (4 mi) ESE, at 10:54 am PDT on 25 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Eugene

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 35 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Eugene, OR, at 2:03 pm PDT on 18 October 2021 (21:03 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 15 km SSE of Holley, Oregon

37 km (23 mi) ENE of Eugene, OR · 28 km (18 mi) NE of Springfield, OR

2:03 pm PDT, Oct 18, 2021 · · -0.6 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Linn County 33 kmLane County 36 kmBenton County 64 kmMarion County 76 kmPolk County 93 kmLincoln County 106 kmDouglas County 110 kmClackamas County 112 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
2:03 pm PDT on 18 October 2021 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) east-northeast of Eugene, OR · earthquakes near Eugene
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Linn County, 33 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1851 days ago

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 Eugene, 35 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: Sweet Home, Brownsville, Coburg.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 44.2253, -122.7157. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Linn County, OR 33 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Linn County
Lane County, OR 36 km (22 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lane County
Benton County, OR 64 km (40 mi) WNW earthquakes near Benton County
Marion County, OR 76 km (47 mi) N earthquakes near Marion County
Polk County, OR 93 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Polk County
Lincoln County, OR 106 km (66 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 13 km S of Crawfordsville, Oregon
  2. 0.4 24 km ENE of Unity, Oregon
  3. 1.8 1 km ESE of Springfield, Oregon
  4. 1.8 5 km NW of Lacomb, Oregon
  5. 1.6 5 km NW of Lacomb, Oregon
  6. 1.7 14 km NE of Springfield, Oregon
  7. 2.0 6 km W of Lacomb, Oregon
  8. 1.6 9 km SSE of Crawfordsville, Oregon
  9. 1.5 4 km SSE of Cascadia, Oregon
  10. 1.5 1 km NNE of Cascadia, Oregon
  11. 2.0 4 km N of Sweet Home, Oregon
  12. 1.8 5 km N of Waterloo, Oregon
  13. 1.6 4 km NW of Brownsville, Oregon
  14. 1.5 3 km S of Brownsville, Oregon
  15. 1.6 22 km N of Unity, 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.