QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Lisbon, ME

USGS: 3 km WNW of Lisbon, Maine

46 km (29 mi) N of Portland, ME

11:46 pm EDT, Oct 13, 2016 · · 4.5 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Androscoggin County 14 kmSagadahoc County 28 kmCumberland County 31 kmLincoln County 51 kmKennebec County 51 kmOxford County 68 kmYork County 81 kmCarroll County 87 kmKnox County 88 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
11:46 pm EDT on 13 October 2016 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) WNW of Lisbon, ME · earthquakes near Lisbon
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
4.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Androscoggin County, 14 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3548 days ago

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) WNW of Lisbon, ME, at 11:46 pm EDT on 13 October 2016 (03:46 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lewiston, Sabattus, Auburn, Lisbon Falls, New Gloucester, Minot.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 44.0489, -70.1440. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Androscoggin County, ME 14 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Androscoggin County
Sagadahoc County, ME 28 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sagadahoc County
Cumberland County, ME 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cumberland County
Lincoln County, ME 51 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Lincoln County
Kennebec County, ME 51 km (32 mi) NE earthquakes near Kennebec County
Oxford County, ME 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Oxford County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 5 km SSE of Monmouth, Maine
  2. 1.8 2 km SW of Gray, Maine
  3. 1.7 6 km S of Livermore, Maine
  4. 1.8 6 km SSE of Turner, Maine
  5. 1.7 6 km SSW of Livermore, Maine
  6. 1.6 6 km ENE of Buckfield, Maine
  7. 2.8 6 km W of Gardiner, Maine
  8. 1.5 6 km S of Monmouth, Maine
  9. 2.5 6 km N of Turner, Maine
  10. 1.5 2 km ENE of Lewiston, Maine
  11. 1.8 2 km SSE of West Paris, Maine
  12. 1.7 5 km NW of Greene, Maine
  13. 2.2 6 km N of North Bath, Maine
  14. 2.2 1 km SW of Sabattus, Maine
  15. 1.6 6 km ESE of Casco, 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.