QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Waldoboro, ME

USGS: 2 km NW of Waldoboro, Maine

11:50 pm EDT, Jul 17, 2017 · · 13 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Waldoboro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 16 kmKnox County 30 kmSagadahoc County 42 kmKennebec County 45 kmWaldo County 46 kmAndroscoggin County 65 kmCumberland County 82 kmHancock County 96 kmOxford County 115 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
11:50 pm EDT on 17 July 2017 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) NW of Waldoboro, ME · earthquakes near Waldoboro
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 16 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3279 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) NW of Waldoboro, ME, at 11:50 pm EDT on 17 July 2017 (03:50 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Nobleboro, Jefferson, Warren, Damariscotta, Union, Friendship.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 44.1122, -69.3982. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, ME 16 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Knox County, ME 30 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Knox County
Sagadahoc County, ME 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sagadahoc County
Kennebec County, ME 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Kennebec County
Waldo County, ME 46 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Waldo County
Androscoggin County, ME 65 km (40 mi) W earthquakes near Androscoggin 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. 1.8 9 km ESE of South Bristol, Maine
  2. 2.0 3 km N of Monhegan, Maine
  3. 2.5 4 km SW of Vinalhaven, Maine
  4. 2.1 3 km NE of Morrill, Maine
  5. 1.8 3 km SE of Morrill, Maine
  6. 2.8 6 km W of Gardiner, Maine
  7. 2.1 6 km NNE of Windsor, Maine
  8. 1.9 8 km SSE of Friendship, Maine
  9. 1.8 6 km S of Friendship, Maine
  10. 1.9 7 km S of Friendship, Maine
  11. 1.5 Maine
  12. 2.0 2 km WNW of China, Maine
  13. 2.2 6 km N of North Bath, Maine
  14. 1.8 3 km WNW of Friendship, Maine
  15. 1.8 3 km NW of Richmond, 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.