QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Forest Grove, OR

No earthquake was likely felt in Forest Grove in the 24 hours to 10:57 pm PST (06:57 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 9 km (5 mi) N, at 1:37 pm PDT on 1 October 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Forest Grove

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Forest Grove, OR, at 5:50 am PDT on 3 May 2026 (12:50 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 15 km ESE of Wheeler, Oregon

82 km (51 mi) W of Portland, OR

5:50 am PDT, May 3, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Tillamook County 21 kmClatsop County 43 kmWashington County 48 kmYamhill County 52 kmColumbia County 59 kmWahkiakum County 76 kmPolk County 85 kmClark County 95 kmMultnomah County 100 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
5:50 am PDT on 3 May 2026 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Forest Grove, OR · earthquakes near Forest Grove
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Tillamook County, 21 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 192 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Forest Grove, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Rockaway Beach, Bay City, Tillamook.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 45.6365, -123.6967. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Tillamook County, OR 21 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Tillamook County
Clatsop County, OR 43 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Clatsop County
Washington County, OR 48 km (30 mi) E earthquakes near Washington County
Yamhill County, OR 52 km (33 mi) SE earthquakes near Yamhill County
Columbia County, OR 59 km (36 mi) NE earthquakes near Columbia County
Wahkiakum County, WA 76 km (47 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wahkiakum 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. 1.7 13 km WSW of Vernonia, Oregon
  2. 1.6 26 km W of Banks, Oregon
  3. 1.7 27 km E of Wheeler, Oregon
  4. 1.0 7 km NW of Yamhill, Oregon
  5. 0.9 11 km NNW of Vernonia, Oregon
  6. 1.6 8 km SW of Vernonia, Oregon
  7. 1.9 21 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.