4 km WNW of Robbinston, Maine

2020-12-09 12:31 UTC · 7.7 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

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: 2020-12-09 12:31 UTC
Magnitude: M 3.0 (ml)
Depth: 7.7 km below the surface
Felt: 125 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest: Washington County, 38 km WSW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2045 days ago · we first saw it 2045 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage. 125 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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.

Where

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 45.0951, -67.1595. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction
Washington County, ME	38 km (24 mi)	ENE of here	earthquakes near Washington County
Hancock County, ME	112 km (70 mi)	ENE of here	earthquakes near Hancock County
Penobscot County, ME	123 km (76 mi)	ESE of here	earthquakes near Penobscot 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.

1.8 14 km ESE of Saint Andrews, Canada 12:41 UTC
1.5 20 km ENE of Saint Andrews, Canada 08:58 UTC
2.2 22 km NE of Saint Andrews, Canada 14:29 UTC
1.6 8 km ENE of Lubec, Maine 03:12 UTC
1.8 24 km ENE of Saint Andrews, Canada 21:52 UTC
2.0 14 km NNE of Eastport, Maine 08:15 UTC
1.7 9 km E of Saint Andrews, Canada 08:20 UTC
2.6 8 km SE of Saint Andrews, Canada 17:52 UTC
1.6 Maine 06:19 UTC
1.5 39 km NE of Saint Andrews, Canada 03:04 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 07:27 UTC. 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.