Shake, rattle and roll in western Maine

California and other Pacific Rim areas usually are the first to come to mind when talking about earthquakes, not Maine or the rest of New England.

The Weston Observatory and the New England Seismic Network say there was a 2.5 magnitude quake about 2 a.m. (EST) near Andover about 7 miles northwest of downtown Rumford, Maine, according to the Associated Press story on the Lewiston Sun Journal website. (The NESN should not be confused with the New England Sports Network, which also goes by the acronym NESN.)

I have been through several earthquakes since moving to California in 1983, including the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta quake in 1989, but the very first temblor I felt was as a child living in Maine. It did not shake me out of bed, but it did wake me suddenly. I seem to recall that the quake’s epicenter was along a fault under the St. Lawrence Seaway.

At 2.5 magnitude, there was no damage and most people seemed to have slept right through it.

There is some interesting information about earthquakes on the East Coast on both the U.S. Geological Survey and Maine Geological Survey websites, including general history and a timeline of major temblors.