Earthquake.now

M1.8 Earthquake near Fort Fairfield, United States — 17 January 2025

A micro earthquake of magnitude 1.8 was recorded near Fort Fairfield, United States on , with an epicentre 4 km northwest of Fort Fairfield, at a focal depth of 12.4 km. It ranked as the 1585th strongest of 6483 earthquakes recorded in the United States in the preceding 30 days.

1.8 Micro

Time (UTC): 2025-01-17 12:16:17

Time (your timezone): —

Magnitude: 1.8 (micro)

Focal depth: 12.4 km (shallow)

Epicentre: 46.8073, -67.8729

Location: 4 km NW of Fort Fairfield, Maine

Country: United States

USGS link to NOAA tsunami information: Not linked

Review status: Reviewed

Source: USGS event page

How strong was this earthquake?

Micro earthquakes are almost never felt at the surface and are recorded only by seismographs.

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake radiates roughly 7.6 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

The USGS assigns this earthquake a significance score of 50, which is below the USGS threshold of more than 600 for its significant-earthquake list. The ranking combines magnitude with available Did You Feel It responses and PAGER alert level; it is not a direct measurement of damage.

What the magnitude scale actually measures →

When it happened locally

That is about 07:44 local solar time at the epicentre, around dawn.

This event was deeper than 76% of the 155,272 earthquakes recorded in the United States in our catalogue and stronger than 76% of them.

Where was the epicentre?

The epicentre was located at 46.8073, -67.8729 — 4 km northwest of Fort Fairfield. The closest other recorded event was a magnitude 2.3 earthquake 39 km south of here on 16 February 2026.

The nearest other settlements in our records are Bridgewater (39 km south), Hamlin (95 km east-northeast), Miramichi (98 km east-northeast) and Fredericton (130 km southeast).

Why the 12 km depth matters

At 12 km this was a shallow earthquake. Shallow events release their energy close to the surface, so for a given magnitude they produce noticeably stronger shaking — and more damage — than deeper ones. Roughly three quarters of all earthquakes worldwide occur at shallow depths.

This catalogue does not ingest eyewitness responses, so it cannot confirm where this earthquake was felt. Based on magnitude alone, events this small are usually detected by instruments rather than people. Its shallow focus makes stronger surface shaking more likely than for a deeper event of the same magnitude.

Read more on how focal depth changes what you feel →

What does the tsunami information flag mean?

The USGS record does not carry a link to NOAA tsunami information. That field is not an all-clear and does not state whether a tsunami occurred. In this case, a damaging tsunami would be less likely because at M1.8 it falls below the magnitude 6.5 threshold that generally applies before a submarine earthquake displaces enough water to generate a damaging tsunami; it occurred inland rather than beneath the sea floor. For an active coastal alert, use tsunami.gov or your local warning authority.

How earthquakes generate tsunamis, and what the alert levels mean →

Aftershocks and local seismic history

No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the seven days after this event.

1 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 4.4 event near Mont-Joli on 18 June 2026. This M1.8 event released about 7,943 times less energy than that event.

No other earthquakes have been recorded within 100 km of this epicentre in the past year, which makes this a genuinely isolated event.

How long aftershock sequences last, and how large they get →

Where this event sits in the record

This earthquake is part of the January 2025 worldwide record, and of earthquakes in the United States during January 2025. Browse the full monthly archive to compare periods.

Nearest recorded earthquakes to this epicentre

Other recent earthquakes in the United States

All recorded earthquakes in the United States →

Other magnitude 1 earthquakes worldwide

Questions about this earthquake

How strong was the earthquake near Fort Fairfield?

It measured magnitude 1.8 — a micro earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake radiates roughly 7.6 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

How deep was the earthquake near Fort Fairfield?

The focus was 12 km below the surface, which counts as shallow.

Was the Fort Fairfield earthquake felt at the surface?

At magnitude 1.8 and a focal depth of 12 km, shaking would have been concentrated near the epicentre.

When did the earthquake near Fort Fairfield happen?

17 January 2025 at 12:16 UTC.

Was there a tsunami?

No. The USGS record carries no tsunami-information link for this event.

Have there been aftershocks?

No further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the seven days after this event.

How often do earthquakes happen near Fort Fairfield?

1 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 4.4 event near Mont-Joli on 18 June 2026. This M1.8 event released about 7,943 times less energy than that event.