QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Portland, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Portland in the 24 hours to 11:30 am PST (19:30 UTC). The last one was M 4.4, 110 km (68 mi) S, at 5:52 am PDT on 7 October 2022, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6,105 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Portland

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.7 explosion was recorded 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Portland, OR, at 3:00 pm PST on 7 November 2022 (23:00 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: Washington-Oregon border region

22 km (14 mi) SW of Portland, OR · 7 km (4 mi) WSW of Tigard, OR

3:00 pm PST, Nov 7, 2022 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Washington County 24 kmMultnomah County 39 kmYamhill County 39 kmClark County 50 kmClackamas County 60 kmMarion County 61 kmColumbia County 61 kmTillamook County 69 kmPolk County 70 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
3:00 pm PST on 7 November 2022 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) southwest of Portland, OR · earthquakes near Portland
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Washington County, 24 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1466 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Portland, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, Aloha, Durham.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

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 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× 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.

Where

Epicentre 45.4102, -122.8735. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Washington County, OR 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Washington County
Multnomah County, OR 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Multnomah County
Yamhill County, OR 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Yamhill County
Clark County, WA 50 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Clark County
Clackamas County, OR 60 km (37 mi) ESE earthquakes near Clackamas County
Marion County, OR 61 km (38 mi) SSE earthquakes near Marion County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 3 km SE of Canby, Oregon
  2. 1.5 8 km W of Yamhill, Oregon
  3. 1.6 3 km SE of Sherwood, Oregon
  4. 1.9 1 km WNW of Saint Paul, Oregon
  5. 1.6 3 km SE of Canby, Oregon
  6. 1.6 9 km NNE of Sheridan, Oregon
  7. 1.9 10 km NNE of Sheridan, Oregon
  8. 1.9 3 km WNW of Tigard, Oregon
  9. 1.7 3 km SSW of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  10. 1.9 5 km SSW of Aloha, Oregon
  11. 2.4 10 km N of Sheridan, Oregon
  12. 1.6 7 km ESE of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  13. 1.6 3 km WNW of Lafayette, Oregon
  14. 1.6 3 km WSW of Stafford, Oregon
  15. 1.8 1 km NNW of Dayton, 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.