Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near West Paris, ME
No earthquake was likely felt in West Paris in the 24 hours to 7:39 pm EST (00:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.8, 140 km (87 mi) S, at 10:22 am EST on 27 January 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 42,440 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near West Paris
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of West Paris, ME, at 2:57 am EDT on 21 October 2020 (06:57 UTC), 5.2 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km SSE of West Paris, Maine
- When
- 2:57 am EDT on 21 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) south-southeast of West Paris, ME · earthquakes near West Paris
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 5.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Oxford County, 25 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2134 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Paris, ME
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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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In West Paris, 2 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Paris, Woodstock, South Paris, Norway, Buckfield, Hebron.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- 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 44.3049, -70.5639. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford County, ME | 25 km (16 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Oxford County |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 32 km (20 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Androscoggin County |
| Cumberland County, ME | 58 km (36 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Cumberland County |
| Kennebec County, ME | 65 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kennebec County |
| Coos County, NH | 69 km (43 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Coos County |
| Carroll County, NH | 70 km (44 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Carroll 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.
- 1.6 2 km NW of Hanover, Maine
- 1.7 6 km S of Livermore, Maine
- 1.8 6 km SSE of Turner, Maine
- 1.7 6 km SSW of Livermore, Maine
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Buckfield, Maine
- 1.7 4 km S of Carthage, Maine
- 1.5 6 km S of Monmouth, Maine
- 2.5 6 km N of Turner, Maine
- 2.4 Maine
- 1.5 2 km ENE of Lewiston, Maine
- 2.0 7 km WNW of Andover, 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
- 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.