A minor earthquake shook the Kennebec County town of China on Saturday, but it’s likely no one really felt it.
Around 12:16 p.m. a 2.0 magnitude quake struck about a mile west of the town, according to the United States Geological Survey.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the quake caused any damage.
It’s the fifth earthquake recorded in Maine so far this year, according to the USGS. Since 1997, including Saturday’s quake, there have been 124 recorded earthquakes in the state.
Most recently, a 2.4 magnitude quake hit Smyrna and was felt locally on Feb. 12, the USGS reported. A 2.2 magnitude quake off the coast of Cape Elizabeth was felt in the Portland area in 2017 and another of the same magnitude was recorded in 2020 3 miles away from Bath.
Any quake that is 2.5 magnitude or less is usually not felt and can only be recorded by a seismograph, according to the Michigan Technical Institute.
The largest earthquake ever recorded in Maine, measuring a 5.9 magnitude, was centered in the Pembroke-Eastport area on March 21, 1904, according to USGS data.