Maryland Geological Survey Maryland Seismic Network
 Local Seismic Events contact: Jim Reger (jreger@mgs.md.gov)
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  Earthquakes detected in and around Maryland.
     The determination of earthquake events is based on data collected from the Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) analyzes the data and notifies Maryland Geological Survey when an earthquake has been detected. Maryland Geological Survey does not determine events. Information about detected events will be posted here as soon as possible. We will not list on this page events outside the Maryland region. For information on other earthquake events see the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, and other sites listed on our earthquake education pages.
     For recent, globally significant events, see the Global Events page.
The seismometer used to detect seismic data is located in central Maryland
Event Helicorder Record
2005
  Date   February 23, 2005 click here to see a larger image
Time

09:22:38 AM EST; 14:22:38 UTC)
Epicenter

SE Baltimore nr. Fort McHenry, Dundalk, Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Gambrills ( -76.58 deg. lon, 39.26 deg lat)

Some maps of the epicenter region can be found on the NEIC web pages.
Magnitude

2.0-2.1
Comments
     Details of the 09:22:38 AM earthquake can be found on the USGS Earthquake Hazards web site. Another page with similar information can be found at the Earthquake Hazards page. From MGS geologist Jim Reger:

     There was one confirmed earthquake Wednesday morning at approximately 9:22 a.m. EST.  The second two events (about 11:01 and 12:08 pm) looked very similar to the first on the raw seismograph display, but once we were able to process the three signals with some analytical software, it was clear the second two were not earthquakes. Regional seismograph stations and the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center concur that there was only the one earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude estimate of 2.0.  See the latest summary from the USGS at http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_uwav_l.html.

        Did you feel this earthquake? Please report your experience to the US Geological Survey's earthquake report page.
2003
  Date   December 9, 2003 Dec. 9, 2003 east-west, high-frequency
Time 3:59:14 PM EST
(20:59:14 UTC )
Epicenter 28 miles west of the Richmond in rural Powhatan County, VA
Magnitude 4.5
Comments
     A look at USGS's Did You Feel It? page, indicates that this moderate quake was felt throughout Maryland.  No damage was reported. The earthquake was apparently two events space about 12 seconds apart.  Details of this earthquake can be found on the USGS Earthquake Hazards web site.
2002
  Date   March 22, 2002 March 22, 2002 event in Columbia, MD
Time 12:00:07 PM EST (19:00:07 UTC )
Epicenter near the intersection of US 29 and MD 32, Columbia, MD
Magnitude 1.0-2.0 (estimated)
Comments

     Analysis of the Soldiers Delight station data indicate that there is a high probably of an earthquake at 19:00:07 UTC (14:00:07 EST) 25 km from Soldiers Delight (about the distance from Soldiers Delight to the intersection of US 29 and MD 32). This event was not detected by seismometers in adjacent states.
      After the event at 19:00:07 UTC, there is event at 19:00:27 that looks like it could have been almost exclusively compression energy with a noticeable surface wave: a classic signatures of an explosive source.

2001
  Date   December 18, 2001 Click for a larger image
Time 1:34 PM EST (18:33:58 UTC)
Epicenter not defined, probably Columbia, MD
Magnitude 1.5-2.0 (estimated)
Comments

     On the afternoon of December 18, 2001, several residents living in Owen Brown Village near Columbia (Howard County) reported a possible earthquake. The Maryland seismic network seismometer detected a magnitude 1.5-2.0 earthquake at approximately 13:34 EST (18:34 UTC) within a 20-25 km of the network seismometer. Monitoring stations in surrounding states (PA, VA, DE, TN) did not detect the event; therefore, the precise epicenter cannot be determined.
      This is the first MD earthquake detected by the Maryland seismic network. The helicorder record to the right was generated from filtered seismic data collected on December 12. The online helicorder record on our Helicorder page does not show this event due to environmental noise in the region at the time of the event.
updated 12/12/06
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