QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Limestone, ME

USGS: 46 km ESE of Hamlin, Maine

11:27 pm EST, Dec 14, 2016 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Limestone Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aroostook County 112 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
11:27 pm EST on 14 December 2016 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) E of Limestone, ME · earthquakes near Limestone
Magnitude
M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aroostook County, 112 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3495 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) E of Limestone, ME, at 11:27 pm EST on 14 December 2016 (04:27 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 86 km E of Hamlin, Maine · 41 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.4 86 km E of Hamlin, Maine · 40 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 87 km W of Miramichi, Canada · 41 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 83 km W of Miramichi, Canada · 45 km E 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 46.9800, -67.1900. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aroostook County, ME 112 km (70 mi) WSW earthquakes near Aroostook County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 60 km ENE of Florenceville-Bristol, Canada
  2. 2.2 83 km E of Hamlin, Maine
  3. 2.0 36 km NNE of Florenceville-Bristol, Canada
  4. 2.0 85 km E of Hamlin, Maine
  5. 1.7 42 km E of Fort Fairfield, Maine
  6. 1.9 62 km ENE of Florenceville-Bristol, Canada
  7. 1.8 63 km E of Hamlin, Maine
  8. 2.0 49 km ENE of Florenceville-Bristol, Canada
  9. 2.2 58 km ENE of Florenceville-Bristol, Canada
  10. 1.6 86 km E of Hamlin, Maine
  11. 1.7 71 km E of Hamlin, 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.