QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Amity, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Amity in the 24 hours to 2:04 pm PST (22:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 2 km (2 mi) SE, at 2:32 pm PDT on 27 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Amity

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 6 km (4 mi) northeast of Amity, OR, at 12:59 pm PDT on 31 May 2024 (19:59 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NE of Amity, Oregon

58 km (36 mi) SW of Portland, OR · 27 km (17 mi) NNW of Salem, OR

12:59 pm PDT, May 31, 2024 · · -0.2 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yamhill County 17 kmPolk County 34 kmWashington County 45 kmMarion County 52 kmTillamook County 59 kmMultnomah County 72 kmClackamas County 75 kmBenton County 76 kmLincoln County 82 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
12:59 pm PDT on 31 May 2024 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) northeast of Amity, OR · earthquakes near Amity
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-0.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yamhill County, 17 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Mount Angel fault, 24 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 895 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Amity, 6 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: McMinnville, Dayton, Lafayette, Carlton, Dundee, Keizer.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 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 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.6 4 km E of Scotts Mills, Oregon · 44 km ESE of this epicentre

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 45.1467, -123.1460. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yamhill County, OR 17 km (11 mi) NW earthquakes near Yamhill County
Polk County, OR 34 km (21 mi) SW earthquakes near Polk County
Washington County, OR 45 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Washington County
Marion County, OR 52 km (33 mi) ESE earthquakes near Marion County
Tillamook County, OR 59 km (37 mi) NW earthquakes near Tillamook County
Multnomah County, OR 72 km (45 mi) NE earthquakes near Multnomah County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km SSE of Stafford, Oregon
  2. 2.1 4 km NE of Lafayette, Oregon
  3. 1.5 2 km NW of Sheridan, Oregon
  4. 1.6 24 km NNW of Sheridan, Oregon
  5. 1.8 8 km W of Falls City, Oregon
  6. 1.7 2 km E of Amity, Oregon
  7. 3.2 5 km SE of Amity, Oregon
  8. 1.6 6 km S of Dayton, Oregon
  9. 1.9 4 km NE of Lafayette, Oregon
  10. 1.6 5 km W of Dallas, Oregon
  11. 1.7 9 km WSW of Falls City, Oregon
  12. 1.6 4 km SSW of Scotts Mills, Oregon
  13. 2.2 2 km SSW of Banks, Oregon
  14. 2.0 3 km WSW of Dundee, Oregon
  15. 2.0 16 km W of Forest Grove, 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.