QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Harbor, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Harbor in the 24 hours to 3:29 pm PST (23:29 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 3 km (2 mi) WNW, at 1:29 pm PDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Harbor

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.6 explosion was recorded 3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Harbor, OR, at 3:31 pm PDT on 12 August 2024 (22:31 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 3 km ENE of Harbor, Oregon

3:31 pm PDT, Aug 12, 2024 · · -0.7 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Del Norte County 40 kmCurry County 45 kmJosephine County 65 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
3:31 pm PDT on 12 August 2024 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Harbor, OR · earthquakes near Harbor
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
-0.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Del Norte County, 40 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 820 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 Harbor, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Brookings 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

USGS catalogues this as explosion, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 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 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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. 5.9 5 km NNE of Hiouchi, California · 29 km SSE 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 42.0637, -124.2283. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Del Norte County, CA 40 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Del Norte County
Curry County, OR 45 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near Curry County
Josephine County, OR 65 km (40 mi) NE earthquakes near Josephine County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.2 6 km WNW of O'Brien, Oregon
  2. 1.7 1 km NW of Brookings, Oregon
  3. 1.5 25 km WNW of Crescent City, California
  4. 0.7 17 km W of Pistol River, Oregon
  5. 1.6 23 km WSW of Brookings, Oregon
  6. 1.7 6 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  7. 2.3 7 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  8. 1.9 6 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  9. 1.6 7 km ESE of Pistol River, Oregon
  10. 1.6 6 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  11. 1.8 6 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  12. 1.6 8 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  13. 1.7 7 km E of Pistol River, Oregon
  14. 1.8 15 km SSW of Pistol River, Oregon
  15. 1.9 7 km NE of Harbor, 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.