The December 24, 1940 earthquake
M5.6near Tamworth, New Hampshire
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake 5.0 miles deep, centred in Carroll County. The strongest in New Hampshire’s record since 1900, and the strongest within 50 miles in the catalogue, which runs from 1900.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- moment magnitude (mw)
- Depth
- 5.0 mi
- 8.0 km below the surface
- Local time
- Tuesday, December 24, 1940
- 08:43 EST; 13:43 UTC
- In New Hampshire’s record
- 1st
- strongest of 44 since 1900
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, event ushis1346 (“5 km NNW of Tamworth, New Hampshire”). The USGS event page carries the ShakeMap, felt reports and the official summary.
Counties and cities within 50 miles
Distance from the epicentre to each county boundary (zero when inside) and to each city centre.
Counties
- Carroll CountyNH · inside
- Grafton CountyNH · 4.0 mi
- Coos CountyNH · 12.6 mi
- Belknap CountyNH · 16.0 mi
- York CountyME · 16.7 mi
- Oxford CountyME · 16.7 mi
- Cumberland CountyME · 23.7 mi
- Strafford CountyNH · 24.4 mi
- Merrimack CountyNH · 32.4 mi
- Orange CountyVT · 39.0 mi
- Essex CountyVT · 40.6 mi
- Androscoggin CountyME · 40.8 mi
- Caledonia CountyVT · 41.0 mi
- Sullivan CountyNH · 41.8 mi
- Rockingham CountyNH · 43.8 mi
- Windsor CountyVT · 46.9 mi
Earthquakes around the epicentre
13 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles of this epicentre since 1973.
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog. Local time is the time zone of the county nearest the epicentre. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them.