QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Medford, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Medford in the 24 hours to 12:29 pm PST (20:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 6 km (3 mi) ENE, at 4:47 pm PDT on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Medford

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) northeast of Medford, OR, at 11:57 pm PDT on 9 April 2022 (06:57 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 3 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon

32 km (20 mi) NE of Medford, OR

11:57 pm PDT, Apr 9, 2022 · · 15 km deep · released about 5.9 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jackson County 17 kmKlamath County 80 kmJosephine County 82 kmDouglas County 93 kmSiskiyou County 108 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
11:57 pm PDT on 9 April 2022 ()
Where
34 km (21 mi) northeast of Medford, OR · earthquakes near Medford
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jackson County, 17 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 613 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Medford, 34 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: Shady Cove, Eagle Point, White City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 160× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.9 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.0 27 km WNW of Klamath Falls, Oregon · 50 km ESE of this epicentre

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 42.5585, -122.6035. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jackson County, OR 17 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jackson County
Klamath County, OR 80 km (49 mi) E earthquakes near Klamath County
Josephine County, OR 82 km (51 mi) WSW earthquakes near Josephine County
Douglas County, OR 93 km (57 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Siskiyou County, CA 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Del Norte County, CA 145 km (90 mi) SW earthquakes near Del Norte County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  2. 2.3 5 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
  3. 0.9 15 km NE of Wimer, Oregon
  4. 1.9 6 km NE of Medford, Oregon
  5. 1.6 8 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  6. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  7. 1.5 7 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  8. 1.6 24 km N of Trail, Oregon
  9. 1.6 6 km W of Central Point, Oregon
  10. 1.6 16 km NNE of Wimer, Oregon
  11. 1.6 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
  12. 1.5 9 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  13. 1.8 6 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
  14. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  15. 1.9 8 km SSE of Jacksonville, 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.