Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6ml
Earthquake near Boxborough, MA
No earthquake was likely felt in Boxborough in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm EST (23:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 101 km (63 mi) NE, at 10:22 am EST on 27 January 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 42,440 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Boxborough
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Boxborough, MA, at 8:48 pm EST on 27 November 2017 (01:48 UTC), 6.7 km deep.
USGS: 1 km SW of Boxborough, Massachusetts
46 km (28 mi) WNW of Boston, MA · 21 km (13 mi) NNW of Framingham, MA
- When
- 8:48 pm EST on 27 November 2017 ()
- Where
- in Boxborough, MA · earthquakes near Boxborough
- Massachusetts today
- every earthquake in Massachusetts in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Middlesex County, 12 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3189 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Boxborough, MA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Boxborough, 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 3 km (2 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: Harvard, Stow, Bolton, Acton, Littleton Common, Maynard.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
- 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 42.4827, -71.5380. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County, MA | 12 km (7 mi) | E | earthquakes near Middlesex County |
| Worcester County, MA | 38 km (24 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Worcester County |
| Norfolk County, MA | 45 km (28 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Norfolk County |
| Suffolk County, MA | 46 km (28 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Suffolk County |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 50 km (31 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Hillsborough County |
| Essex County, MA | 58 km (36 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Essex County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
12 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 2 km S of Bedford, New Hampshire
- 2.1 2 km NNW of Milford, New Hampshire
- 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
- 1.8 1 km S of Boxborough, Massachusetts
- 1.8 2 km W of Salem, New Hampshire
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Baldwinville, Massachusetts
- 2.2 2 km W of Gardner, Massachusetts
- 2.1 3 km NNE of Templeton, Massachusetts
- 1.9 5 km ESE of Litchfield, New Hampshire
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.