QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Lakeview, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lakeview in the 24 hours to 11:31 am PST (19:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 7:41 am PST on 4 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lakeview

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 explosion was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north-northwest of Lakeview, OR, at 12:01 pm PDT on 22 July 2022 (19:01 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 16 km SSE of Paisley, Oregon

12:01 pm PDT, Jul 22, 2022 · · -1.6 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 27 kmKlamath County 96 kmModoc 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
12:01 pm PDT on 22 July 2022 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) north-northwest of Lakeview, OR · earthquakes near Lakeview
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
-1.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 27 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Winter Rim fault system, 1 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 1571 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Lakeview, 42 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.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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. 5.0 3 km ENE of Lakeview, Oregon · 42 km SSE 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 42.5527, -120.4827. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, OR 27 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lake County
Klamath County, OR 96 km (60 mi) W earthquakes near Klamath County
Modoc County, CA 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Modoc County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 8 km WNW of Lakeview, Oregon
  2. 1.7 9 km WNW of Lakeview, Oregon
  3. 2.8 9 km WNW of Lakeview, Oregon
  4. 1.7 1 km WNW of Lakeview, Oregon
  5. 1.6 23 km NNE of Lakeview, Oregon
  6. 1.9 17 km WSW of Plush, 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.