The Number of Earthquakes Maine Had in 2022 Might Surprise You
Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions, or personal experiences.
As the world nears the end of a tumultuous 2022, it turns out it was even shakier in Maine than you may have realized.
Despite being known mainly for ice and snow, it turns out Vacationland experienced a mind-rattling number of earthquakes this year.
According to the state’s official website, Maine experienced a whopping 27 earthquakes in 2022. In fact, five have come in December alone (which, of course, is not over).
This comes after three earthquakes struck in September and November, respectively (in an eerie Stephen King-like twist, Halloween was the one time this holiday season that came and went without any tremors).
Believe it or not, that was not the most active month for Maine earthquakes (which came so frequently this year, it would be insensitive to refer to them as “Crabquakes”).
In August 2022, Maine experienced eight earthquakes, most coming near the town of Jonesboro. For perspective, just three struck in 2021 alone.
It marked the most the state’s most active month for earthquake activity since February 2016, when six were traced back to multiple areas.
If you didn’t feel anything, hold off on calling your neurologist. None of the quakes this year exceeded 3.0 on the Richter scale, and they were reported as felt by few, or in some cases, none.
Bizarrely, this comes after New Hampshire also experienced a rather active year, including some shaking that was felt and reported by locals this past summer. That said, none were as powerful as two historic, destructive quakes that once struck within days of each other (during Christmas!).