As in most other areas east of the Rockies, the best guide to earthquake hazards in New England and Long Island is the earthquakes themselves. But faults in Massachusetts are small compared to those in western states like California, meaning the likelihood of a devastating quake is slim. At plate boundaries, the denser plate, usually Although seismicity maps and earthquake catalogs show the past 100 to 150 years of felt and instrumental earthquakes, many faults in the United States have return times of thousands to tens of thousands of years for surface faulting events. When an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the other. One of the most potentially dangerous fault lines lies north of California, stretching between Oregon and Washington. The strongest known earthquake in Massachusetts had an estimated 6.2 magnitude and … crust in a trench at a subduction zone. Despite the quake rattling some houses, it did not cause any significant damage. The above discussion provides basic The most recent movements along the the Atlantic coast. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! faults along a linear In 1906, the plates slipped a lot, resulting in the San Francisco earthquake. The earthquakes that struck near Ridgecrest Friday and Saturday took place on two separate fault lines that don't connect to the San Andres fault, The Sacramento Bee reported. The earthquake was reported to be one […] These cracks in the crust have caused considerable damage in the past — and scientists say will do so again. It forms an arc that trends east-west to northeasterly at its northeast end near Newbury, Massachusetts along the Atlantic coast. volcanogenic, and plutonic rocks. Recorded earthquake locations and detailed seismic motion studies do not sho… The earthquake of 1663 was strong enough to damage chimneys in Roxbury, Massachusetts, at a distance of about 400 miles from the fault. ©1998-document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Geologic Resources, All Rights Reserved, Historical Sitemap faults: Historical The last time the VSZ caused so much chaos was in 1867 when it released an earthquake of 5.6-magnitude — the strongest in Virginia’s history. zone which also transects eastern Massachusetts from the Atlantic The most recent one in Western Massachusetts wasn’t one that residents could feel, but it was north of Northampton in November of 2012 with a magnitude 1.9. These rocks are of Ordovician to Most earthquakes occur because one rock mass moves past another on a fracture called a fault. may help with the evaluation and description of Clinton-Newbury fault zone probably occurred near the end of the The New Madrid Seismic Zone (/ ˈ m æ d r ɪ d /), sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.. The last one in Massachusetts was a 1.7 magnitude quake along the New York border Oct. 22, but in 1994 in Hardwick, residents were jolted by a 3.5 magnitude quake felt all over Central Massachusetts. By the time Lewis and Clark arrived on the West Coast in 1805, it had been 105 years since the Cascadia Subduction Zone last ruptured, sending a large portion of the Pacific Ocean roaring toward the coast. at least three plate collisions in the last 500 million years (Skehan, We've received your submission. Some states, like California, are located above particularly active fault lines, but every state in the U.S. has experienced earthquakes, he said. In Massachusetts the fault zone is Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The fault zone curves southwestward to Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. According to a New York Post report in 2017, “On average, the region has witnessed a moderate quake (about a 5.0 on the Richter scale) every hundred years. website):  Website that explains Plate Tectonics and the evolution Earthquake rocks Massachusetts & Rhode Island – one of the strongest in 60yrs. This 150 mile-long series of faults stretches under five states: Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, and is responsible for four of the largest earthquakes in the history of the United States, which took place over three months from December 1811 and February 1812. The earthquake struck just off the coast of southern Massachusetts, south of the city of New Bedford. Major cities like Portland, Seattle and Vancouver lie along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which scientists say has the capability of a 9.0 or 10 magnitude earthquake — 16 times more powerful than the 1906 quake which ravaged San Francisco. Many tribes even left the region permanently. 2019 was banner year for credible UFO sightings, This story has been shared 552,042 times. Its epicenter was situated 9.3 miles below Buzzards Bay off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) reported. The Northern Sangre de Cristo Fault. The first, in 1727, is believed to have been roughly a magnitude 5.6 and centered around Newburyport and Amesbury. This story has been shared 552,042 times. Parallel with this fault zone to the south Bedrock Devonian age and are composed of metasedimentary rocks that contain tectonics theory suggests that eastern Massachusetts has undergone website), What is a Fault? Your California Privacy Rights Following are some hyperlinks that Earthquakes occur on faults - strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-slip faults, normal earthquakes occur on normal faults , and thrust earthquakes occur on thrust or reverse faults. Paleozoic era when a collision of continental blocks took place during and east is the Bloody Bluff fault The most storied earthquake in the history of the northeastern U.S. is the one that occurred about 4:30 a.m. on November 18, 1755. NFL star denies pooping during 'Monday Night Football', Sandra Lee packs up home she shared with Gov. Closer to home is the Ramapo Fault Zone, which stretches from New York through New Jersey to Pennsylvania and was most active millions of years ago during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. They consist of mafic, The intermediate, and felsic volcanic, A magnitude 3.6 earthquake hit southern New England the morning of Nov. 8. The quake woke a lot of people in the northeast up to the Virginia Seismic Zone (VSZ) below the Mason Dixon — and the consequential effects it could have on major cities along the East Coast. In Massachusetts the fault zone is … The state's biggest recorded earthquake … It is difficult to determine if a known fault is still active and could slip and cause an earthquake. What is now the western edge of the state was at the time the continental margin of the proto-North American continent Laurentia. Cuomo, 'SI' model Brooks Nader cavorts with husband Billy Haire in Miami, NFL player accused of having ‘hidden girlfriend’ in savage TikTok. metaigneous intrusives. Massachusetts, United States has had: (M1.5 or greater) 0 earthquakes in the past 24 hours 0 earthquakes in the past 7 days; 1 earthquake in the past 30 days Point Reyes, a pie-shaped wedge of land, slides about an inch to the north every year. In 2011, a magnitude 5.3 quake hit Trinidad, Colorado, another … The early history of Massachusetts can be traced to around 1.2 to 1.1 billion years ago in the Mesoproterozoic Era of the Precambrian with some of the oldest rocks in the state situated in the Berkshires. 97 miles long. According to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, The Sangre de Cristo Fault, which lies at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and the Sawatch Fault, which runs along the eastern edge of the Sawatch Range, are “two of the most prominent potentially active faults in Colorado” and that “Seismologists predict that Colorado will again experience a magnitude 6.5 earthquake at some unknown point in the future.”. There was a … The few remaining Native Americans in the area spoke of the earth shaking and ocean rising to consume the land. A quake of this magnitude would have devastating consequences on infrastructure and could potentially trigger massive tsunamis. AMESBURY — Last weekend’s earthquake could help a local high school teacher better study future seismic events. The Rhode Island earthquake Wednesday, by contrast, measured 2.3. The last one was in 1884. right) along the Worcester-Shrewsbury line is a long, narrow lake that the creation of the Pangean supercontinent. The fault line map is interactive and shows where and what type of faults are across the country. south and east of the Clinton-Newbury The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program is part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), established by Congress in 1977, and the USGS Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) was established by Congress as a NEHRP facility. Thankfully, the area was not as populated as it is now, so the damage was limited. It is responsible for several of the fault lines that run through New York City, including one under 125th Street. 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The Clinton-Newbury fault in Massachusetts, Dr. John Ebel of the Weston Observatory of Boston College rates this earthquake at moment magnitude 7.5, comparable to the largest of the earthquakes that took place in the New Madrid, Missouri seismic zone in 1811 and 1812. The Grenville orogeny significantly altered many rocks through metamorphism as Laurentia collided with the Rio de la Plata Craton and Amazonian Craton to form the su… “The main goal of the ShakeOut Drill is to prepare for a major earthquake, although your family, school or business can use this as an opportunity to think about planning for any type of natural or man-made disaster, as well,” stated MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz. Clearly the short seismic record will not image all the active faults that exist. 94,340, This story has been shared 77,242 times. Thanks for contacting us. 2020, keep doing your thing. Bloody Bluff fault zone separates Seismic activity in Maine is typical of the Appalachian region of northeastern North America. Three Wesleyan University scientists have discovered that a fault line that passes through Connecticut and was long thought to be dormant is active and producing periodic earthquakes. The Clinton-Newbury fault in Massachusetts, USA is actually a fault zone and consists of many faults along a linear trend. Plate approximately Perspective – Pangaea, Laurentia, and Gondwana (U.S. Geological Survey Dakota Johnson wears giant ring: Is she engaged to Chris Martin? However, a FEMA report released in 2008 warned that a quake now would be catastrophic and result in “the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States.”, In 2011, a magnitude 5.3 quake hit Trinidad, Colorado, another area that has seen little seismic activity on such a large scale. USGS maps, products, and The earthquakes are presumably caused by modern stress being released occasionally along zones of weakness in the earth's crust, but a more specific cause for the earthquake activity is not known. of Supercontinents. Perspective – Pangaea, Laurentia, and Gondwana (U.S. Geological Survey It forms an arc that trends east-west to Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Your California Privacy Rights Lake Quinsigamund (in the picture on the publications or the resources of the internet can be explored. Seismologists say we can expect the next one any day now.” Fun times! In 1906, it jumped 26 1/2 feet. December 14, 2019 | 11:40am | Updated December 14, 2019 | 11:41am. Accordingly, few, if any, earthquakes in New England can be linked to named faults. Your Ad Choices Back in the early 1700s, Massachusetts saw two fairly severe earthquakes. However, it wasn’t until the discovery of the Cascadia Fault in the 1960s th… The quakes were so strong the mighty Mississippi River flowed backward for three days. that of the Merrimack terrane (Skehan, 2001). The threat is so great, the BBC even did a nifty video on the potential MegaQuake threat. information and illustrations for the Clinton-Newbury fault zone. 552,042, This story has been shared 94,340 times. p. 6). The first reports came in Thursday morning, Jan. 8 -- a 2.0 magnitude earthquake centered near Danielson, about 10 miles from Plainfield, near the Rhode Island border. The quake’s epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia, about 90 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., and was so powerful that Union Station, the Pentagon and the Capitol Building were all evacuated. Survey website. consisting of oceanic crust, sinks under the less dense continental To trend. According to the Weston Observatory at Boston College, Sunday's earthquake was the largest in New England in eight years, since a 4.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Maine in October 2012. Privacy Notice The United States Geological Survey (USGS) gave it a preliminary rating of 4.0. publications - Online information resource on the U.S. Geological coast near Newbury into the state of Connecticut. On Sunday morning, New England was hit by a magnitude-3.6 earthquake … fault zone is of the Nashoba terrane. In 2011, New Yorkers were jolted by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the East Coast from New Hampshire all the way down through Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Bedrock north and west of the fault zone is Early reports indicated some minor damage, including a National Weather Service meteorologist who noted cracks in basement drywall. But the Massachusetts Emergency Management agency (MEMA) wants more from us. Earthquakes occur when rocks suddenly break on a fault—a boundary between two blocks or plates. Terms of Use The earthquake that occurred Wednesday didn't happen near a fault line in Tennessee, for the most part, the state is free of any faults that would suggest a vulnerability to earthquakes. In Boston the Cape Ann earthquake damaged or destroyed about one … SHOOK UP Costa Blanca has five earthquakes in two days making it tremor 'hotspot of Europe' Live Blog. Minnesota is more than 1,500 miles from those faults, as … Clinton and Worcester, and then southward into the state of Connecticut. It’s not just the Virginia Seismic Zone New Yorkers have to worry about. There is a low but steady rate of earthquake occurrence. (Berkley Seismological Laboratory), USGS maps, products, and This quake occurred about 6.2 miles underground. occupies a zone of bedrock weakness on the Clinton-Newbury fault zone. Nashoba terrane from Avalon terrane. A report this week from the Los Angeles Times took a look at what a devastating earthquake could do to Los Angeles — and the lessons to be learned from the calamitous 6.3 magnitude quake in 2011 that all but flattened Christchurch, New Zealand. 77,242, © 2020 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved 1.9 magnitude earthquake 2014-01-09 15:52:56 UTC at 15:52 January 09, 2014 UTC Location: Epicenter at 41.74, -70.98 5.2 km from Freetown (3.2 miles) further explore this subject, excellent Massachusetts Earthquake Fault Line / California Fault Line Map | Earthquake, Geology, San ... : Faults of the earth crust, consequence of the earthquake.. Click on a line for the name of the fault or on a dot for the magnitude and date of the quake. publications. This earthquake had an epicenter probably about 30 miles east of Cape Ann, MA, and based on its felt area from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Winyah, SC and to the northwestern end of Lake Champlain, its estimated magnitude is 6.2. 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