QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Tri-City, OR

USGS: Oregon

2:14 pm PDT, Aug 31, 2023 · · -0.6 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Douglas County 39 kmCoos County 63 kmJosephine County 67 kmJackson County 84 kmCurry County 89 kmLane County 113 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
2:14 pm PDT on 31 August 2023 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) WSW of Tri-City, OR · earthquakes near Tri-City
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
-0.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Douglas County, 39 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1122 days ago

A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) WSW of Tri-City, OR, at 2:14 pm PDT on 31 August 2023 (21:14 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Riddle, Myrtle Creek, Canyonville, Winston, Green, Roseburg.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 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 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 42.9745, -123.3693. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Douglas County, OR 39 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Douglas County
Coos County, OR 63 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Coos County
Josephine County, OR 67 km (42 mi) SSW earthquakes near Josephine County
Jackson County, OR 84 km (52 mi) SE earthquakes near Jackson County
Curry County, OR 89 km (55 mi) SW earthquakes near Curry County
Lane County, OR 113 km (70 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 8 km SW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  2. 0.9 15 km NE of Wimer, Oregon
  3. 1.1 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  4. 1.6 6 km W of Riddle, Oregon
  5. 1.6 5 km NW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  6. 1.5 9 km WSW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  7. 1.6 5 km SE of Dillard, Oregon
  8. 1.8 5 km NNW of Roseburg North, Oregon
  9. 1.5 8 km SW of Lookingglass, Oregon
  10. 1.6 24 km N of Trail, Oregon
  11. 1.6 16 km NNE of Wimer, Oregon
  12. 1.5 18 km ENE of Powers, Oregon
  13. 1.6 4 km NNE of Roseburg North, Oregon
  14. 1.7 21 km E of Days Creek, Oregon
  15. 1.7 6 km NW of Roseburg North, 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.