QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Newfield, ME

No earthquake was likely felt in Newfield in the 24 hours to 11:19 pm EST (04:19 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 18 km (11 mi) ENE, at 9:18 pm EDT on 21 September 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 108 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Newfield

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southeast of Newfield, ME, at 7:31 am EDT on 9 September 2023 (11:31 UTC), 7.2 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km SE of Newfield, Maine

49 km (30 mi) W of Portland, ME · 142 km (88 mi) N of Boston, MA

7:31 am EDT, Sep 9, 2023 · · 7.2 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N York County 23 kmStrafford County 40 kmCumberland County 43 kmCarroll County 44 kmBelknap County 52 kmRockingham County 73 kmAndroscoggin County 78 kmMerrimack County 79 kmSagadahoc County 84 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
7:31 am EDT on 9 September 2023 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) southeast of Newfield, ME · earthquakes near Newfield
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
York County, 23 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1056 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Newfield, 6 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: Lake Arrowhead, Shapleigh, Limerick, Waterboro, Acton, Limington.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 43.6080, -70.7938. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
York County, ME 23 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near York County
Strafford County, NH 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Strafford County
Cumberland County, ME 43 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cumberland County
Carroll County, NH 44 km (27 mi) NW earthquakes near Carroll County
Belknap County, NH 52 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Belknap County
Rockingham County, NH 73 km (45 mi) SSW earthquakes near Rockingham County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 2 km SW of Gray, Maine
  2. 1.9 8 km ENE of Lake Arrowhead, Maine
  3. 2.0 5 km S of Alton, New Hampshire
  4. 1.9 3 km WSW of Dayton, 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.