Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7ml
Earthquake near Athol, MA
No earthquake was likely felt in Athol in the 24 hours to 7:52 pm EST (00:52 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 26 km (16 mi) ESE, at 12:26 pm EDT on 22 April 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Athol
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in Athol, MA, at 8:10 pm EDT on 5 September 2017 (00:10 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 1 km SW of Athol, Massachusetts
50 km (31 mi) NW of Worcester, MA · 104 km (64 mi) WNW of Boston, MA
- When
- 8:10 pm EDT on 5 September 2017 ()
- Where
- in Athol, MA · earthquakes near Athol
- Massachusetts today
- every earthquake in Massachusetts in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Franklin County, 29 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3262 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Athol, MA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Athol, MA. 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 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Orange, Phillipston, Royalston, Erving, Baldwinville, Wendell.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 42.5869, -72.2372. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, MA | 29 km (18 mi) | W | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Cheshire County, NH | 38 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Cheshire County |
| Worcester County, MA | 39 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Worcester County |
| Hampshire County, MA | 45 km (28 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hampshire County |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 55 km (34 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Hillsborough County |
| Hampden County, MA | 60 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Hampden County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
9 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 3 km SSW of Westminster, Massachusetts
- 1.8 4 km ENE of Hubbardston, Massachusetts
- 2.1 3 km SSW of Westminster, Massachusetts
- 1.7 3 km SW of Townsend, Massachusetts
- 1.5 4 km WSW of Chesterfield, New Hampshire
- 2.2 2 km SSE of Erving, Massachusetts
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Baldwinville, Massachusetts
- 2.2 2 km W of Gardner, Massachusetts
- 2.1 3 km NNE of Templeton, Massachusetts
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.