What fault caused the 2011 Virginia earthquake?

What fault caused the 2011 Virginia earthquake?

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the “Quail” fault zone east of Charlottesville and just south of Mineral, Virginia, was the epicenter of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that may have been felt by more people than any other earthquake in U.S. history.

What kind of earthquake is 2012?

The 2012 East Indian Ocean quake involved lateral movement — referred to as strike-slip, the same type of movement that occurs along California’s San Andreas Fault — and was the largest strike-slip quake ever recorded. “This was one of the weirdest earthquakes we have ever seen,” Burgmann said.

Is a 10.9 earthquake possible?

No, earthquakes of magnitude 10 or larger cannot happen. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs.

What part of California did the earthquake hit?

The USGS said the quake hit at 5:07 a.m. and was centered several miles northwest of Bay Point, California, about 21 miles northeast of Berkeley and 30 miles northeast of downtown San Francisco.

Is Washington, D.C. on a fault line?

The Stafford fault system, located in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, provides the most complete record of fault movement during the past ~120 m.y. across the Virginia, Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.), and Maryland region, including displacement of Pleistocene terrace gravels.

Is Virginia on a tectonic plate?

Virginia and the eastern side of the North American continent are in the middle of a tectonic plate.

Where did the 6.2 earthquake hit in California?

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California Monday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake hit at 12:10 p.m. and was centered 30.8 miles southwest of Ferndale, 36.3 miles west-southwest of Fortuna and 45.2 miles southwest of Eureka, the USGS said.

What fault was the 6.2 earthquake in California?

transform fault
That’s because it originated in a transform fault, according to earthquake expert Lucy Jones. Jones, a research associate at Caltech’s seismological lab, said the quake struck in the Mendocino fracture zone, just offshore from Cape Mendocino in Humboldt County.