Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6mb_lg
Earthquake near Ellsworth, ME
No earthquake was likely felt in Ellsworth in the 24 hours to 8:41 pm EST (01:41 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 2 km (1 mi) NNW, at 5:12 am EST on 10 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ellsworth
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Ellsworth, ME, at 11:53 am EST on 15 January 2016 (16:53 UTC), 9.8 km deep.
USGS: 4 km SW of Beddington, Maine
- When
- 11:53 am EST on 15 January 2016 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Ellsworth, ME · earthquakes near Ellsworth
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 9.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Hancock County, 36 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3872 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Ellsworth, ME
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Ellsworth, ME. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 50 km (31 mi) from the epicentre. In Ellsworth, 40 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.
Likely felt in: Addison 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 44.8167, -68.0920. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County, ME | 36 km (22 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hancock County |
| Washington County, ME | 42 km (26 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Penobscot County, ME | 80 km (50 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Penobscot County |
| Waldo County, ME | 90 km (56 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Waldo County |
| Knox County, ME | 114 km (71 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Knox County |
| Lincoln County, ME | 145 km (90 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 15 km S of Lowell, Maine
- 1.8 2 km NNW of Ellsworth, Maine
- 1.5 4 km WNW of Milbridge, Maine
- 1.7 1 km NE of Aurora, Maine
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Centerville, Maine
- 1.5 2 km ESE of Eastbrook, Maine
- 1.6 Maine
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
- 2.0 7 km E of Dedham, Maine
- 2.0 7 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
- 3.3 7 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
- 1.8 7 km E of Dedham, Maine
- 1.8 7 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
- 1.9 8 km ESE of Dedham, Maine
- 1.9 4 km WNW of Steuben, Maine
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.