QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

7 km SW of Cornwall, Canada

· 11 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Franklin County 56 kmSt. Lawrence County 58 kmClinton County 89 kmGrand Isle County 119 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
9 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Franklin County, 56 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1968 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km SW of Cornwall, Canada at 14:19 UTC on 2019-12-17. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Massena, Fort Covington Hamlet, Norfolk, Norwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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.

Where

Epicentre 44.9710, -74.7900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Franklin County, NY 56 km (35 mi) SE earthquakes near Franklin County
St. Lawrence County, NY 58 km (36 mi) SSW earthquakes near St. Lawrence County
Clinton County, NY 89 km (55 mi) ESE earthquakes near Clinton County
Grand Isle County, VT 119 km (74 mi) E earthquakes near Grand Isle County
Essex County, NY 125 km (78 mi) SE earthquakes near Essex County
Jefferson County, NY 148 km (92 mi) SW earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7 km NE of Potsdam, New York
  2. 1.6 5 km S of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
  3. 1.6 6 km ESE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
  4. 1.6 1 km S of Massena, New York
  5. 2.2 8 km W of Saint Regis Falls, New York
  6. 2.5 6 km SSE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
  7. 1.8 6 km WNW of Huntingdon, Canada
  8. 2.1 8 km WNW of Huntingdon, Canada
  9. 3.1 6 km WNW of Huntingdon, Canada
  10. 2.8 8 km NNW of Canton, New York
  11. 1.9 8 km ESE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
  12. 1.6 Ontario-Quebec border region, Canada
  13. 2.1 7 km SW of Cornwall, Canada
  14. 2.2 9 km WNW of Massena, New York
  15. 1.7 New York

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

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