QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Sangerville, ME

No earthquake was likely felt in Sangerville in the 24 hours to 12:08 pm EST (17:08 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) WNW, at 12:13 am EDT on 23 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sangerville

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north of Sangerville, ME, at 4:52 pm EST on 4 February 2018 (21:52 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SSE of Willimantic, Maine

4:52 pm EST, Feb 4, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Somerset County 54 kmPenobscot County 58 kmPiscataquis County 77 kmFranklin County 87 kmWaldo County 88 kmKennebec County 97 kmHancock County 109 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
4:52 pm EST on 4 February 2018 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) north of Sangerville, ME · earthquakes near Sangerville
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Somerset County, 54 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3125 days ago

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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Sangerville, 9 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: Dover-Foxcroft, Dexter, Brownville, Garland, Greenville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 45.2457, -69.3737. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Somerset County, ME 54 km (33 mi) WNW earthquakes near Somerset County
Penobscot County, ME 58 km (36 mi) ENE earthquakes near Penobscot County
Piscataquis County, ME 77 km (48 mi) NNE earthquakes near Piscataquis County
Franklin County, ME 87 km (54 mi) WSW earthquakes near Franklin County
Waldo County, ME 88 km (55 mi) SSE earthquakes near Waldo County
Kennebec County, ME 97 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kennebec County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 12 km NNW of Brownville, Maine
  2. 1.8 0 km NW of Guilford, Maine
  3. 1.6 7 km S of Sebec, Maine
  4. 1.5 15 km ENE of Greenville, Maine
  5. 2.0 5 km ENE of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
  6. 2.0 7 km ESE of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
  7. 1.5 7 km ESE of Cambridge, Maine
  8. 1.7 3 km N of Sangerville, Maine
  9. 1.9 3 km SW of Sebec, Maine
  10. 1.6 4 km NNE of Bowerbank, Maine
  11. 1.9 0 km ENE of Sebec, Maine
  12. 2.5 5 km SSW of Sebec, Maine
  13. 1.9 36 km ENE of Greenville, Maine
  14. 1.5 6 km SSE of Willimantic, Maine
  15. 1.9 9 km NW of Brownville, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.