QuakeIndex

explosion · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near La Pine, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Pine in the 24 hours to 3:30 pm PST (23:30 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 11 km (7 mi) E, at 3:11 pm PDT on 15 April 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Pine

No: USGS classifies this as a explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 explosion was recorded 21 km (13 mi) east of La Pine, OR, at 12:22 pm PST on 17 December 2025 (20:22 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 21 km E of La Pine, Oregon

44 km (27 mi) S of Bend, OR

12:22 pm PST, Dec 17, 2025 · · -1.8 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Deschutes County 28 kmCrook County 89 kmJefferson County 109 kmKlamath County 114 kmLake County 120 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
12:22 pm PST on 17 December 2025 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) east of La Pine, OR · earthquakes near La Pine
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
-1.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Deschutes County, 28 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Southeast Newberry fault, 22 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 328 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 La Pine, 21 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: Three Rivers, Sunriver.

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 43.6668, -121.2403. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Deschutes County, OR 28 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near Deschutes County
Crook County, OR 89 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Crook County
Jefferson County, OR 109 km (68 mi) N earthquakes near Jefferson County
Klamath County, OR 114 km (71 mi) SSW earthquakes near Klamath County
Lake County, OR 120 km (74 mi) SE earthquakes near Lake County
Linn County, OR 138 km (86 mi) NW earthquakes near Linn County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 4 km NNW of Bend, Oregon
  2. 1.5 17 km ESE of Sunriver, Oregon
  3. 1.7 10 km E of La Pine, 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.