QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Jacksonville, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jacksonville in the 24 hours to 10:37 am PST (18:37 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 13 km (8 mi) ENE, at 4:47 pm PDT on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jacksonville

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 7 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Jacksonville, OR, at 2:29 pm PST on 16 February 2026 (22:29 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SSE of Jacksonville, Oregon

10 km (6 mi) SSW of Medford, OR

2:29 pm PST, Feb 16, 2026 · · -1.1 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jackson County 26 kmJosephine County 56 kmSiskiyou County 81 kmDel Norte County 104 kmCurry County 109 kmKlamath County 115 kmDouglas County 116 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
2:29 pm PST on 16 February 2026 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Jacksonville, OR · earthquakes near Jacksonville
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-1.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jackson County, 26 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 269 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 Jacksonville, 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: Phoenix, Medford, Talent, Central Point, Ashland, White City.

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 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 42.2565, -122.9187. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jackson County, OR 26 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Jackson County
Josephine County, OR 56 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Josephine County
Siskiyou County, CA 81 km (50 mi) SSE earthquakes near Siskiyou County
Del Norte County, CA 104 km (65 mi) WSW earthquakes near Del Norte County
Curry County, OR 109 km (68 mi) WNW earthquakes near Curry County
Klamath County, OR 115 km (71 mi) ENE earthquakes near Klamath County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km SE of Eagle Point, Oregon
  2. 2.3 5 km ENE of Medford, Oregon
  3. 0.9 15 km NE of Wimer, Oregon
  4. 1.9 6 km NE of Medford, Oregon
  5. 1.6 8 km WSW of Phoenix, Oregon
  6. 2.0 19 km SSW of Ashland, Oregon
  7. 1.8 7 km SSE of White City, 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.