2011 Virginia earthquake

2011 Virginia earthquake

UTC time	2011-08-23 17:51:04
ISC event	17331323
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	August 23, 2011
Local time	1:51:04 pm EDT
Magnitude	5.8 Mw
Depth	6 km (4 mi)
Epicenter	37°56′10″N 77°55′59″W / 37.936°N 77.933°W / 37.936; -77.933
Type	Dip-slip (reverse)
Areas affected	Canada, United States
Max. intensity	VII (Very strong)[1]
Peak acceleration	0.26g

The 2011 Virginia earthquake was a magnitude 5.8 (M_w) earthquake in the U.S. state of Virginia on August 23, 2011, at 1:51 PM EDT (17:51 UTC). The focus was 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Richmond and 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the town of Mineral, Virginia.^[2] The earthquake was along the Spotsylvania Fault, an ancient fault line that now sits in the middle of the North American plate.^[3] Four aftershocks happened within twelve hours of the main earthquake. The aftershocks had magnitudes 2.8, 2.2, 4.2 and 3.4.^[4][5][6][7] About 35 hours after the main earthquake, a sixth aftershock of magnitude 4.5 occurred.^[8] As of August 30, there have been 19 aftershocks, most of them minor.^[9]

There are very few strong earthquakes east of the Rockies in the U.S. This was only the second magnitude 5.8 in the last last 114 years. The other was the 1944 quake on the New York-Ontario border.^[10][11]

1. ↑ "Pager– M 5.8– Virginia". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
2. ↑ "Earthquake strikes US east coast, felt all the way down in Orlando, FL reported by KCNSEN". BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
3. ↑ "5.9 earthquake in central Virginia felt across East Coast". Hamptonroads.com. Retrieved 23 August 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. ↑ "Magnitude 2.8 – Virginia". Earthquake.usgs.gov. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-08-23.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. ↑ "Magnitude 2.2 – Virginia". United States Geological Survey. 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
6. ↑ "Magnitude 4.2 – Virgnia". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 24, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
7. ↑ "Earthquake, aftershocks rattle Northern Virginia". insidenova.com. 24 August 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. ↑ "Magnitude 4.5 - VIRGINIA". Earthquake.usgs.gov. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2011-08-25.^{[permanent dead link]}
9. ↑ Weil, Martin (2011-08-30). "Earthquake aftershocks roll on". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
10. ↑ "Largest Earthquakes by State, List of Earthquakes". USGS. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
11. ↑ "Historic United States Earthquakes Sorted by State & Date". USGS. Archived from the original on December 11, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2011.