QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Lebanon, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lebanon in the 24 hours to 2:39 pm PST (22:39 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 8 km (5 mi) NE, at 10:17 am PDT on 15 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lebanon

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east of Lebanon, OR, at 1:45 pm PST on 29 November 2023 (21:45 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 5 km N of Waterloo, Oregon

24 km (15 mi) ESE of Albany, OR · 111 km (69 mi) S of Portland, OR

1:45 pm PST, Nov 29, 2023 · · -0.3 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Linn County 23 kmMarion County 44 kmBenton County 49 kmPolk County 60 kmLane County 69 kmClackamas County 84 kmLincoln County 87 kmYamhill County 87 kmWashington County 114 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
1:45 pm PST on 29 November 2023 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east of Lebanon, OR · earthquakes near Lebanon
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Linn County, 23 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1070 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Lebanon, 7 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: South Lebanon, Sweet Home, Brownsville, Tangent, Millersburg, Jefferson.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 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 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2022-10-07 — about 14,000 times the energy of this one.

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 44.5475, -122.8175. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Linn County, OR 23 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Linn County
Marion County, OR 44 km (27 mi) NNE earthquakes near Marion County
Benton County, OR 49 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Benton County
Polk County, OR 60 km (38 mi) NW earthquakes near Polk County
Lane County, OR 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near Lane County
Clackamas County, OR 84 km (52 mi) NE earthquakes near Clackamas County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 13 km S of Crawfordsville, Oregon
  2. 1.7 5 km SSE of Monroe, Oregon
  3. 1.2 13 km SE of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  4. 1.5 6 km SSE of Monroe, Oregon
  5. 1.8 5 km NW of Lacomb, Oregon
  6. 1.6 5 km NW of Lacomb, Oregon
  7. 1.8 5 km SSE of Monroe, Oregon
  8. 1.7 14 km NE of Springfield, Oregon
  9. 2.0 6 km W of Lacomb, Oregon
  10. 1.6 9 km SSE of Crawfordsville, Oregon
  11. 1.5 4 km SSE of Cascadia, Oregon
  12. 1.8 3 km W of Mehama, Oregon
  13. 1.5 1 km NNE of Cascadia, Oregon
  14. 2.0 4 km N of Sweet Home, Oregon
  15. 1.8 5 km N of Waterloo, 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.