QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Portland, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Portland in the 24 hours to 3:54 am PST (11:54 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 1.6 explosion was recorded 37 km (23 mi) north-northeast of Portland, OR, at 3:59 pm PDT on 14 June 2023 (22:59 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: Washington-Oregon border region

35 km (22 mi) NNE of Portland, OR · 23 km (14 mi) NNE of Vancouver, WA

3:59 pm PDT, Jun 14, 2023 · · -0.9 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Clark County 6 kmMultnomah County 31 kmCowlitz County 44 kmSkamania County 46 kmColumbia County 49 kmWashington County 57 kmHood River County 72 kmClackamas County 77 kmLewis County 84 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
3:59 pm PDT on 14 June 2023 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) north-northeast of Portland, OR · earthquakes near Portland
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Clark County, 6 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1245 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Portland, 37 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: Lewisville, Yacolt, Venersborg, Battle Ground, Amboy, Hockinson.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 45.8252, -122.4682. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Clark County, WA 6 km (4 mi) SSW earthquakes near Clark County
Multnomah County, OR 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Multnomah County
Cowlitz County, WA 44 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Cowlitz County
Skamania County, WA 46 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Skamania County
Columbia County, OR 49 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Columbia County
Washington County, OR 57 km (36 mi) WSW earthquakes near Washington County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 19 km E of Kelso, Washington
  2. 2.0 19 km E of Kelso, Washington
  3. 1.5 9 km ENE of Kalama, Washington
  4. 2.1 12 km E of Yacolt, Washington
  5. 1.6 3 km NNE of West Haven, Oregon
  6. 1.6 1 km E of Lewisville, Washington
  7. 1.8 7 km WNW of Warren, Oregon
  8. 1.8 5 km NNE of La Center, Washington
  9. 1.8 3 km ENE of Venersborg, Washington
  10. 2.0 8 km WNW of Warren, Oregon
  11. 1.8 37 km NNE of Amboy, Washington
  12. 1.8 3 km WSW of Felida, Washington
  13. 1.7 7 km E of Kalama, Washington
  14. 1.7 24 km N of Amboy, Washington
  15. 1.7 24 km N of Amboy, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.