NE Oregon has strongest earthquake in more than 30 years

JOSEPH — A small earthquake, albeit the strongest in Northeastern Oregon in more than 30 years, hit late Nov. 9 in Wallowa County southeast of Joseph. The quake, recorded at 11:43 p.m., had a magnitude of 4.3, according to Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. The epicenter was near Carrol Creek, a tributary of Big Sheep Creek about 3 miles east of the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road and about 12 miles southeast of Joseph. The quake happened about 7.5 miles underground (the initial report stated 1.5 miles). Doug Gibbons, seismic lab coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said based on the network’s historical database, the temblor was the strongest in Northeastern Oregon since a magnitude 4.0 quake on Oct. 27, 1994, about 7 miles southeast of Halfway. Gibbons said the quake was slightly too weak to trigger a public notice, through cellphone messages similar to Amber Alerts, through the ShakeAlert system. The threshold for ShakeAlert is magnitude 4.5, Gibbons said.

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