Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Morristown, NJ
No earthquake was likely felt in Morristown in the 24 hours to 12:27 am EST (05:27 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 6 km (4 mi) WNW, at 5:38 am EDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Morristown
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of Morristown, NJ, at 6:35 pm EDT on 25 September 2017 (22:35 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 172 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km W of Morristown, New Jersey
51 km (32 mi) WNW of New York, NY · 22 km (14 mi) NNW of Plainfield, NJ
- When
- 6:35 pm EDT on 25 September 2017 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west of Morristown, NJ · earthquakes near Morristown
- New Jersey today
- every earthquake in New Jersey in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 172 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Morris County, 7 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 951 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morristown, NJ
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Morristown, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Morris Plains, Cedar Knolls, Mendham, Randolph, Whippany, Victory Gardens.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 40.7987, -74.5138. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morris County, NJ | 7 km (5 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Morris County |
| Essex County, NJ | 23 km (14 mi) | E | earthquakes near Essex County |
| Union County, NJ | 23 km (14 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Union County |
| Somerset County, NJ | 27 km (17 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Somerset County |
| Passaic County, NJ | 32 km (20 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Passaic County |
| Hudson County, NJ | 37 km (23 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Hudson County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 6 km W of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km E of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km N of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 3 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.8 4 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.9 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Califon, New Jersey
- 1.9 5 km SW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 2.6 5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 1.6 6 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.6 6 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
- 1.5 7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
- 2.2 6 km NNE of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
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.