Oregon Earthquakes: Recent Quakes and the Largest on Record
Oregon averages 27 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year (2016 to 2025), and the largest in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M7.0 of August 17, 1991, 136 km WSW of Brookings, Oregon (offshore).
Earthquakes near Portland in the last 30 days
Every quake within 155 miles of Portland, Oregon’s largest city, newest first. For your own address, enter a ZIP code.
Live from the USGS earthquake catalog. Times are Pacific time; felt reports and the shaking level come from Did You Feel It? A new quake can take a few minutes to appear and its magnitude can be revised.
Oregon by the numbers
USGS catalog, read October 10, 2026Oregon averages 27 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more a year, counting 270 from 2016 to 2025, which ranks it 14th of the fifty states.
Oregon earthquakes by year
The USGS catalog lists 546 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more in Oregon from 1990 to 2025, the most in 1993 (72). 2016 to 2025: 109; 2006 to 2015: 128.
The 10 largest earthquakes in Oregon
The largest earthquake in Oregon in the USGS catalog since 1900 is the M7.0 of August 17, 1991, 136 km WSW of Brookings, Oregon (offshore). It was centered offshore, within the state’s waters or just beyond them. The most recent of magnitude 4 or more was the M4.1 of August 8, 2026, 116 km W of Gold Beach, Oregon (offshore).
- 1M7.0
- 2M6.9
- 3M6.1
- 4M6.0
- 5M6.0
- 6M6.0
- 7M5.9
- 8M5.9
- 9M5.9
- 10M5.9
From the USGS ComCat catalog, every magnitude since 1900, read October 10, 2026. Offshore quakes count when USGS names Oregon in the place and the quake is within 150 km of its coast. Each place links to the quake’s USGS page.
Fault zones in Oregon
- Cascadia Subduction Zone
- Portland Hills fault
“However, the likelihood of a Portland Hills fault earthquake is considerably less than a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.”
Named by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), read October 9, 2026.
What to do in an earthquake
- 1
Drop
Drop where you are onto hands and knees.
- 2
Cover
Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath it for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall (away from windows). Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.
- 3
Hold On
Hold until the shaking stops. If under shelter, hold on with one hand and be ready to move with it when the shelter moves. If not under shelter, hold on to your head and neck with both arms and hands.
Ready.gov’s words, from Ready.gov: Earthquakes (updated Sep 9, 2026, read October 9, 2026). Practice it with The Great ShakeOut: Earthquake Drills.
Oregon earthquake questions
More from MyWild
Sources. The live list: the USGS FDSN event service. Oregon’s counts and largest quakes: the USGS ComCat catalog, read October 10, 2026, counted inside the state’s Census boundary and within 150 km of its coast where USGS names the state. Portland: the state’s most populous city in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates. Older years hold fewer small quakes because fewer instruments were listening.
Hero photograph: the San Andreas Fault across the Carrizo Plain. “Kluft-photo-Carrizo-Plain-Nov-2007-Img 0327” by Ikluft, CC BY-SA 4.0