Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Potsdam, NY
USGS: 9 km NW of Saint Regis Falls, New York
- When
- 6:07 am EDT on 18 July 2017 ()
- Where
- 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Potsdam, NY · earthquakes near Potsdam
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Franklin County, 30 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1968 days ago
A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Potsdam, NY, at 6:07 am EDT on 18 July 2017 (10:07 UTC). 7 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: Norwood, Norfolk, Fort Covington Hamlet, Hannawa Falls, Massena.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 41 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 The 1944 Massena, New York Earthquake · 25 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 Near Cornwall, Ontario, Canada · 41 km NW of this epicentre
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 44.7295, -74.6422. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, NY | 30 km (19 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| St. Lawrence County, NY | 43 km (27 mi) | SW | earthquakes near St. Lawrence County |
| Clinton County, NY | 74 km (46 mi) | E | earthquakes near Clinton County |
| Essex County, NY | 97 km (60 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Essex County |
| Grand Isle County, VT | 106 km (66 mi) | E | earthquakes near Grand Isle County |
| Hamilton County, NY | 120 km (74 mi) | S | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
27 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 7 km NE of Potsdam, New York
- 1.6 5 km S of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
- 1.5 14 km N of Tupper Lake, New York
- 1.6 1 km S of Massena, New York
- 2.2 8 km W of Saint Regis Falls, New York
- 2.5 6 km SSE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
- 1.6 16 km NNW of Tupper Lake, New York
- 1.9 8 km ESE of Fort Covington Hamlet, New York
- 1.6 Ontario-Quebec border region, Canada
- 2.1 7 km SW of Cornwall, Canada
- 2.2 9 km WNW of Massena, New York
- 1.7 New York
- 1.6 1 km SE of Saint Regis Falls, New York
- 2.5 2 km SSW of Saint Regis Falls, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.