An earthquake occurred in New York City on Friday (April 5), shaking buildings and surprising people in a region that seldom suffers substantial seismic activity. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s preliminary magnitude was 4.8, with its epicenter near New Jersey.
People reported vibrations from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts. According to Reuters, a representative for the New York City Police Department confirmed that no complaints of damage had been received.
Here’s a look at what may have triggered an earthquake in New York and why the city seldom gets one.
What triggered the New York earthquake?
It is unclear which fault line the last earthquake originated on. Fault lines are simply cracks that allow tectonic plates—pieces of the Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle—to move, resulting in earthquakes.
“There is a major fault line in New Jersey called the Ramapo Fault, which stems from the Appalachian Mountains,” according to CBS. The research also said that at least five minor fault lines exist beneath the island of Manhattan.
Notably, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which fault line a quake originated along the East Coast. According to the research, “the nearest plate boundaries are in the center of the Atlantic Ocean, making it difficult to study the area.”
Why are earthquakes so infrequent in New York?
Unlike the West Coast locations, such as California, the East Coast, which includes New York, is not located near the tectonic plate boundaries.
“Hundreds of millions of years ago, the land that would eventually become New York was a place where continents crashed together and large earthquakes shook the earth below,” according to The New York Times.
The fault lines that pass across the region gradually became less active. However, they do occasionally relieve tension during that particular period.
“A lot of what you feel here, these little earthquakes, is a settling down of stresses from way back then,” John C. Mutter, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University, told the New York Times.
“These little earthquakes are caused by the release of stress from the past. “It takes time for things to settle,” he explained.
