What is 1755 Cape Ann earthquake?
{{orphan|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox earthquake | title = 1755 Cape Ann earthquake | pre-1900 = yes | local-date = {{Start date|1755|11|18|df=yes}} | local-time = 04:30 | anss-url = ushis7 | map2 = {{Location map+ | Massachusetts | relief = 1 | width= 250 | float=none | caption= | places= {{Location map~ | Massachusetts | label= | lat=42.7 | long=-70.2 | mark=Bullseye1.png | marksize=40 | position=top}} {{Location map~ | Massachusetts | label=Cape Ann | lat=42.63 | long=-70.63 | mark= | marksize=8 | position=left}} }} | magnitude = 5.9 {{M|w|link=y}}<ref>{{Cite journal|author =Ebel, J.E.|year=2006|title=The Cape Ann, Massachusetts earthquake of 1755: a 250th anniversary perspective|journal=Seismological Research Letters|publisher=[[Seismological Society of America]]|volume=77|page=74|issue=1|url=https://zenodo.org/record/979535}}</ref> | depth = | intensity = {{MMI|8}} | location = {{coord|42.7|-70.2|display=inline,title}} | countries affected = [[British America]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] | tsunami = | casualties = }} The '''1755 Cape Ann earthquake''' happened off the coast of British [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] (present-day Massachusetts) on 18 November 1755. The maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] was VIII (Severe). At between 6.0 and 6.3 on the [[Richter scale]], it was one of the biggest earthquakes in the history of Massachusetts. No one was killed, but damaged hundreds of buildings in Boston. People felt the shaking as far north as [[Nova Scotia]] and as far south as [[South Carolina]].<ref>Ballard C. Campbell, ed. ''American Disasters: 201 Calamities That Shook the Nation'' (2008) pp 28–30</ref> Even sailors on a ship over 200 miles away thought their ship was running aground at first. Some folks in Boston believed the earthquake was a sign from God, and it made people more religious for a short time. Nowadays, if a similar earthquake hit Boston, it could cause up to [[United States dollar|$]]5 billion in damage and lots of deaths.