U.S. state profile · USGS ComCat
Earthquakes in Maine
Maine has catalogued 1 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 30th of 39 U.S. states), with the strongest reaching magnitude M4.7.
Maine ranks 30th of 39 U.S. states and territories by catalogued seismic activity - a state with limited seismic activity, averaging about 0 M4+ events a year alongside 0 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. Below: the full M6+ event history, magnitude and depth profile, and yearly trend.
- 1
- M4+ events (since 2005)
- 0
- Major M6+ (since 1900)
- M4.7
- Strongest
- ~0
- M4+ per year
The verdict
Maine is relatively quiet seismically compared to most places tracked here, with 1 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 0 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 4.7.
- N/A
- no yearly breakdown available
- N/A
- average recorded event depth
- 0%
- of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)
Average catalogued magnitude is 4.7 - most events are moderate tremors felt but rarely damaging. Maine is the quietest tracked jurisdiction; the next step up the ladder is Missouri at 2 M4+ events.
Catalog event strip
Event tape ME · Maine M4+ · 30th/39
Maine · 1 M4+ · max M4.7 · 0 M6+
- COMCAT 1
- TAPE 30th/39
- EPIC M4.7
- YOY 0
- BAND near Missouri
- STRIP Oct 16, 2012
Stamps derive from this jurisdiction's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Most active U.S. regions → · All state catalog rows → · States ranked →
Where Maine sits in the catalog
Rank 30th of 39 tracked U.S. states and territories (0th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). Maine is the quietest tracked jurisdiction; the next step up the ladder is Missouri at 2 M4+ events.
- Missouri - next more active (2 M4+)
No M6+ events on the significant record
Maine has catalogued M4+ activity since 2005 but zero magnitude-6.0-and-above events in the USGS significant series back to 1900. The nearest tracked jurisdiction that does carry an M6+ record is Arizona (7 M4+ · 3 M6+).
Same M4+ count, broken by peak magnitude
10 tracked jurisdictions share Maine's exact catalogued count of 1 M4+ events since 2005. Among that cohort, Maine ranks 3rd of 10 by strongest recorded magnitude (M4.7).
| State | M4+ count | Strongest |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 1 | M5.1 |
| New Jersey | 1 | M4.8 |
| Maine (this page) | 1 | M4.7 |
| Maryland | 1 | M4.6 |
| Kentucky | 1 | M4.2 |
Seismic hazard context
Catalogued counts on this page are history, not a building-code hazard map. Maine's latest M4+ catalog entry is dated Oct 16, 2012. For the national PGA design-basis tiers, see the seismic risk maps guide or the USGS National Seismic Hazard Model.
Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster
A Maine-keyed shuffle of states with a recorded max magnitude. Layout order flips by state so sibling pages do not open the same block first.
Other states in this catalog sample
A second Maine-keyed shuffle of the full 38-state roster (not ABS-gap nearest neighbors).
According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.