Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Vernonia, OR
No earthquake was likely felt in Vernonia in the 24 hours to 8:06 pm PST (04:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) E, at 7:25 am PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 113 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Vernonia
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) west of Vernonia, OR, at 7:38 am PDT on 18 May 2023 (14:38 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 10 km W of Vernonia, Oregon
63 km (39 mi) NW of Portland, OR · 47 km (29 mi) NW of Hillsboro, OR
- When
- 7:38 am PDT on 18 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) west of Vernonia, OR · earthquakes near Vernonia
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Columbia County, 21 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1274 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Vernonia, OR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Vernonia, 10 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: Clatskanie.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.2 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 45.8560, -123.3243. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia County, OR | 21 km (13 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Columbia County |
| Clatsop County, OR | 35 km (22 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Clatsop County |
| Washington County, OR | 38 km (24 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Wahkiakum County, WA | 49 km (31 mi) | N | earthquakes near Wahkiakum County |
| Tillamook County, OR | 56 km (35 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Tillamook County |
| Cowlitz County, WA | 63 km (39 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Cowlitz County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 13 km NE of Vernonia, Oregon
- 1.6 13 km E of Wheeler, Oregon
- 1.6 2 km NNE of Columbia City, Oregon
- 1.8 8 km SW of Scappoose, Oregon
- 2.2 2 km SSW of Banks, Oregon
- 2.0 16 km W of Forest Grove, Oregon
- 1.6 21 km W of Forest Grove, Oregon
- 1.9 5 km NW of Westport, Oregon
- 1.6 10 km WSW of Felida, Washington
- 1.6 3 km ENE of East Cathlamet, Washington
- 2.1 1 km ESE of Banks, Oregon
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Prescott, Oregon
- 1.5 8 km NNE of Nehalem, Oregon
- 1.6 1 km WSW of Kalama, Washington
- 1.9 4 km SW of Cathlamet, Washington
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
- 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.