However, this is not the first instance of it. In January, Richmond, Virginia had a magnitude 2.8 earthquake of comparable magnitude, with over 1,000 individuals experiencing trembling.
Additionally, the same region experienced “severe” shaking from a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in 2011, which caused damage to the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.
There are faults that run across Virginia despite its location in the center of the North American plate.
The depths at which they create earthquakes are far deeper than those seen on the West Coast.According to the Virginia Department of Energy,
It is not always easy to link a particular earthquake to a particular fault since most Virginia earthquakes occur between three and fifteen miles below the surface.
The origin of today’s earthquake, which occurred at a depth of around five miles, is yet unknown. Because of the structure of the basement rock.
The old rocks that make up the Earth’s crust—earthquakes on the East Coast are less powerful than those on the West Coast, but they are felt across a considerably larger area.
