1755 Cape Ann earthquake

1755 Cape Ann earthquake

Cape Ann
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	November 18, 1755 (1755-11-18)
Local time	04:30
Magnitude	5.9 Mw[1]
Epicenter	42°42′N 70°12′W / 42.7°N 70.2°W / 42.7; -70.2
Areas affected	British America, Province of Massachusetts Bay
Max. intensity	MMI VIII (Severe)

The 1755 Cape Ann earthquake took place off the coast of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay (present-day Massachusetts) on November 18. At between 6.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, it remains the largest earthquake in the history of Massachusetts. No one was killed, but it damaged hundreds of buildings in Boston and was felt as far north as Nova Scotia and as far south as South Carolina.^[2] Sailors on a ship more than 200 miles (320 km) offshore felt the quake, and mistook it at first for their ship running aground. Many residents of Boston and the surrounding areas attributed the quake to God, and it occasioned a brief increase in religious fervor in the city. Modern studies estimate that if a similar quake shook Boston today, it would result in as much as $5 billion in damage and hundreds of deaths.^[3] Some discussion has revolved around the idea that this may have been a remotely triggered event from the 1755 Lisbon earthquake or its aftershocks.