The Oregon coast was rocked by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake Wednesday.
The US Geological Survey (USGS)detected the massive tremor at 1:15pm local time, with its epicenter located about 170 miles west of Bandon and 250 miles west-southwest of Salem.
The have been no immediate reports of injuries or damages, but officials ensured a tsunami was not expected to form in the Pacific Ocean.
The tremor appeared to occur in the Blanco Fracture Zone (BFZ) that has produced swarms in recent years, but the latest is the largest in recorded history.
The Oregon coast was rocked by a 6.1-magnitude earthquake Wednesday
The USGS initially reported the earthquake as a 6.1-magnitude, but later downgraded it to a 6.0.
The tremor occurred at a depth of about six miles, and light-to-medium shaking was probably felt throughout parts of western Oregon and northern California.
‘It could take several hours until authorities can conduct comprehensive damage assessments, especially in remote areas,’ Crisis 24 reported.
‘Moderate-to-light aftershocks are likely over the coming days. The event has not prompted any tsunami advisories.’
Officials could temporarily shut down transportation infrastructure around Bandon to investigate the area for damages.
The BFZ is a transform plate boundary, a place where two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally, which connects the Juan de Fuca ridge with the Gorda rise spreading centers.
The tremor appeared to occur in the Blanco Fracture Zone (BFZ), which has produced swarms in recent years
The fault starts more than 90 miles off Cape Blanco and extends northwest to about 300 miles off of Newport.
It sits about 275 miles west of Oregon and roughly 200 miles further west of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California.
The BFZ experienced a swarm of at least nine quakes in 2022, with the strongest reaching a magnitude 5.6.
And the year before, at least 66 hit with two measuring a 5.8-magnitude.
The fault has produced over 1,500 earthquakes of 4.0 magnitude or greater since the 1970s, according to Oregon State University.
