QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.8mwr

Earthquake near York Harbor, ME

No earthquake was likely felt in York Harbor in the 24 hours to 2:39 am EST (07:39 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 14 km (8 mi) SE, at 7:57 am EST on 2 February 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 55 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near York Harbor

This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southeast of York Harbor, ME, at 10:22 am EST on 27 January 2025 (15:22 UTC), 11 km deep. 42,440 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km SE of York Harbor, Maine

89 km (55 mi) NNE of Boston, MA · 53 km (33 mi) NE of Haverhill, MA

10:22 am EST, Jan 27, 2025 · · 11 km deep · released about 7.6 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N York County 41 kmRockingham County 44 kmStrafford County 45 kmEssex County 53 kmCumberland County 85 kmBelknap County 86 kmSuffolk County 89 kmMiddlesex County 94 kmMerrimack County 94 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
10:22 am EST on 27 January 2025 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) southeast of York Harbor, ME · earthquakes near York Harbor
Magnitude
M 3.8 (mwr)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
42,440 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
York County, 41 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 168 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 401 km (249 mi) from the epicentre. In York Harbor, 10 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Kittery Point, New Castle, York Beach, Kittery, Cape Neddick, Portsmouth.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× more

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 43.0657, -70.5707. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
York County, ME 41 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near York County
Rockingham County, NH 44 km (27 mi) W earthquakes near Rockingham County
Strafford County, NH 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Strafford County
Essex County, MA 53 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near Essex County
Cumberland County, ME 85 km (53 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cumberland County
Belknap County, NH 86 km (53 mi) NW earthquakes near Belknap County

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

Aftershocks so far

5 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 2 km NE of Danville, New Hampshire
  2. 2.1 34 km SE of York Beach, Maine
  3. 1.6 3 km SSE of Greenland, New Hampshire
  4. 2.0 13 km SE of York Harbor, Maine
  5. 2.0 10 km SE of York Harbor, 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.