QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Albany, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Albany in the 24 hours to 1:21 am PST (09:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) NNE, at 1:00 pm PDT on 16 May 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Albany

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) east of Albany, OR, at 2:54 pm PST on 22 December 2021 (22:54 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 14 km E of Lacomb, Oregon

43 km (27 mi) E of Albany, OR · 109 km (68 mi) S of Portland, OR

2:54 pm PST, Dec 22, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Linn County 8 kmMarion County 38 kmBenton County 69 kmClackamas County 73 kmLane County 75 kmPolk County 76 kmYamhill County 97 kmLincoln County 107 kmJefferson County 110 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
2:54 pm PST on 22 December 2021 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) east of Albany, OR · earthquakes near Albany
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Linn County, 8 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1786 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Albany, 44 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: Mill City, Sweet Home, Lyons, Lebanon, South Lebanon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 44.5598, -122.5603. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Linn County, OR 8 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near Linn County
Marion County, OR 38 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Marion County
Benton County, OR 69 km (43 mi) W earthquakes near Benton County
Clackamas County, OR 73 km (45 mi) NNE earthquakes near Clackamas County
Lane County, OR 75 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lane County
Polk County, OR 76 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near Polk County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 4 km SSE of Cascadia, Oregon
  2. 1.8 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
  3. 1.5 1 km NNE of Cascadia, Oregon
  4. 2.0 4 km N of Sweet Home, Oregon
  5. 1.8 5 km N of Waterloo, Oregon
  6. 1.6 4 km NW of Brownsville, Oregon
  7. 1.7 5 km W of Mehama, Oregon
  8. 1.5 3 km S of Brownsville, Oregon
  9. 1.6 22 km N of Unity, Oregon
  10. 2.1 2 km WSW of Jefferson, Oregon
  11. 1.7 14 km N of Mehama, Oregon
  12. 1.9 5 km ENE of Lebanon, Oregon
  13. 1.7 5 km W of Mehama, Oregon
  14. 1.7 11 km SE of Silverton, Oregon
  15. 2.2 3 km NNW of Sweet Home, 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.