8 km W of Mitchell, Oregon

2021-12-25 05:46 UTC · 7.2 km deep · released about 36 lb of TNT

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: 2021-12-25 05:46 UTC
Magnitude: M 2.0 (ml)
Depth: 7.2 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Wheeler County, 28 km NE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 1736 days ago · we first saw it 1736 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 36 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 44.5538, -120.2630. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction
Wheeler County, OR	28 km (17 mi)	SW of here	earthquakes near Wheeler County
Crook County, OR	44 km (28 mi)	N of here	earthquakes near Crook County
Jefferson County, OR	73 km (45 mi)	E of here	earthquakes near Jefferson County
Gilliam County, OR	92 km (57 mi)	S of here	earthquakes near Gilliam County
Wasco County, OR	98 km (61 mi)	SE of here	earthquakes near Wasco County
Grant County, OR	99 km (62 mi)	W of here	earthquakes near Grant County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

2.0 12 km NNW of Mitchell, Oregon 02:23 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 03:01 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.