QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Friendship, ME

USGS: 3 km WNW of Friendship, Maine

12:23 am EDT, Aug 30, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Friendship Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 12 kmKnox County 27 kmSagadahoc County 39 kmKennebec County 57 kmWaldo County 57 kmAndroscoggin County 70 kmCumberland County 80 kmHancock County 102 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
12:23 am EDT on 30 August 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) WNW of Friendship, ME · earthquakes near Friendship
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 12 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2886 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) WNW of Friendship, ME, at 12:23 am EDT on 30 August 2018 (04:23 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cushing, Waldoboro, Bristol, Damariscotta, Nobleboro, Saint George.

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 43.9936, -69.3689. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, ME 12 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Lincoln County
Knox County, ME 27 km (17 mi) ENE earthquakes near Knox County
Sagadahoc County, ME 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sagadahoc County
Kennebec County, ME 57 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Kennebec County
Waldo County, ME 57 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Waldo County
Androscoggin County, ME 70 km (43 mi) WNW earthquakes near Androscoggin County

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

Aftershocks so far

10 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. 2.8 6 km W of Gardiner, Maine
  5. 2.1 6 km NNE of Windsor, Maine
  6. 1.9 8 km SSE of Friendship, Maine
  7. 1.8 6 km S of Friendship, Maine
  8. 1.9 7 km S of Friendship, Maine
  9. 2.2 6 km N of North Bath, Maine
  10. 2.3 11 km S of Vinalhaven, 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.