GREENFIELD — If the ground beneath you felt a little shaky on Monday, you’re not the only one — tremors from a 3.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Maine could be felt more than 100 miles away in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake struck York Harbor in southern Maine at 10:22 a.m., and could be felt across New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 8.2 miles below the Earth’s surface.

The earthquake was given a preliminary 4.1-magnitude ranking by the USGS, but was downgraded to a 3.8 after data from more survey stations was reviewed. The earthquake was reported by 43 stations.

On the Richter scale of magnitude, an earthquake measuring 3.0 to 3.9 is considered a slight earthquake. It is often felt by people and shakes indoor objects, but rarely causes damage. Similarly, a 4.0 to 4.9 quake rarely causes damage, but can cause objects to shake and fall over.

William Clement, a professor of near-surface geophysics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said 3.0-magnitude earthquakes happen roughly every six months in New England, and 4.0 earthquakes occur once every four or five years. Small earthquakes occur frequently and are not something to fear.

“These things happen all the time,” Clement said. “They’re small enough that maybe you don’t feel it unless you’re really sensitive.”

Clement explained that earthquakes are caused by shifting tectonic plates. The plates are constantly moving, shifting and building up pressure. New England is located in the center of the North American tectonic plate. Larger magnitude earthquakes typically occur near the edges of the plates, where they crash into each other, but the stress of tectonic movements is ultimately spread across the whole plate.

“We’re in the middle of a plate so we don’t get a lot of them here,” Clement said. “But occasionally one pops up. It’s basically the plate releasing stress.”

The tremors were felt more than a 100 miles away from Maine by residents of Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, including people living in Orange, Montague, Shelburne Falls and Greenfield. Residents shared personal stories of feeling the earthquake across community social media pages, with commenters detailing how they saw picture frames shaking or tripped while they were walking their dogs. Some initially thought the tremors might have come from a vehicle crash or a train passing by.

When the earthquake hit, Katherine Erwin’s knitting group was meeting in a building across from the Orange Fire Station, as it does three times each week.

“We heard the rumble and I joked that it must have been a big truck,” Erwin wrote in an email. “Others said it felt like an earthquake. We looked at social media and sure enough it was.”

In Athol, Jeni Ann Kingsley said she was at a friend’s home off Silver Lake Street when she felt the quake. She said she’s felt earthquakes before, and this one sounded as if a heavy object has been dropped on the porch.

A few miles west, Joanna Mae Boody of Millers Falls said she initially thought there was a train derailment from where she was on Federal Street, until a neighbor messaged her and they realized no train was nearby. That was when she saw social media posts about the earthquake.

In Turners Falls, Kari Ann Wiles said she and her husband were sitting in their living room and thought the shaking was caused by a large truck driving by.

“The shaking started and there seemed to be almost like a slowing or pause. It was very quick. If we were not paying attention to it, we would have never noticed it. Then after the slight pause, the same level of shaking continued and at that point we knew it was an earthquake,” she said.

No damage associated with the earthquake has been reported in Maine.

“We have not received word of any issues,” said Vanessa Corson, spokesperson for Maine Emergency Management Agency. “We’ve spoken with the directors at York and Cumberland County EMA, and everything seems to be in order.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com. Reporter Erin-Leigh Hoffman contributed to this story. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.