QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Phoenix, OR

USGS: 7 km NNE of Phoenix, Oregon

5 km (3 mi) E of Medford, OR

12:56 pm PDT, Jun 12, 2023 · · -1.5 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jackson County 12 kmJosephine County 65 kmSiskiyou County 86 kmKlamath County 101 kmDouglas County 110 kmCurry County 118 kmDel Norte County 118 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
12:56 pm PDT on 12 June 2023 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) NNE of Phoenix, OR · earthquakes near Phoenix
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-1.5 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Jackson County, 12 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1201 days ago

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) NNE of Phoenix, OR, at 12:56 pm PDT on 12 June 2023 (19:56 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Medford, Talent, Central Point, White City, Jacksonville, Eagle Point.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 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 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 42.3372, -122.7882. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jackson County, OR 12 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Jackson County
Josephine County, OR 65 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Josephine County
Siskiyou County, CA 86 km (53 mi) SSE earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Klamath County, OR 101 km (63 mi) ENE earthquakes near Klamath County
Douglas County, OR 110 km (68 mi) NNW earthquakes near Douglas County
Curry County, OR 118 km (73 mi) W earthquakes near Curry County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.9 15 km NE of Wimer, Oregon
  2. 1.9 6 km NE of Medford, Oregon
  3. 1.6 8 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  4. 2.0 19 km SSW of Ashland, Oregon
  5. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, Oregon
  6. 1.5 7 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  7. 1.6 6 km W of Central Point, Oregon
  8. 1.6 16 km NNE of Wimer, Oregon
  9. 1.6 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, Oregon
  10. 1.5 9 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  11. 1.8 6 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
  12. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  13. 1.9 8 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  14. 1.6 9 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon
  15. 1.7 7 km WNW of Butte Falls, 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.