Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8mb_lg
Earthquake near Canton, NY
No earthquake was likely felt in Canton in the 24 hours to 2:34 pm EST (19:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 24 km (15 mi) ENE, at 2:55 pm EDT on 28 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Canton
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) north-northwest of Canton, NY, at 4:59 pm EST on 11 December 2023 (21:59 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 382 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km NNW of Canton, New York
- When
- 4:59 pm EST on 11 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) north-northwest of Canton, NY · earthquakes near Canton
- New York today
- every earthquake in New York in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 9.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 382 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- St. Lawrence County, 23 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 85 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Canton, NY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Canton, NY. No account or email needed.
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 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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Canton, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Potsdam, Norwood, Hannawa Falls, Norfolk, Ogdensburg.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 The 1944 Massena, New York Earthquake · 47 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 Near Cornwall, Ontario, Canada · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
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 44.6719, -75.2055. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Lawrence County, NY | 23 km (14 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near St. Lawrence County |
| Franklin County, NY | 71 km (44 mi) | E | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Lewis County, NY | 101 km (63 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lewis County |
| Jefferson County, NY | 101 km (63 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Jefferson County |
| Clinton County, NY | 119 km (74 mi) | E | earthquakes near Clinton County |
| Hamilton County, NY | 126 km (78 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hamilton 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.
- 1.6 9 km N of Brasher Falls, New York
- 2.0 7 km NE of Potsdam, New York
- 1.6 1 km S of Massena, New York
- 1.6 8 km NNE of Rensselaer Falls, New York
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.