A small earthquake rattled upstate New York on an ancient fault that occasionally reawakens, producing a brief but noticeable tremor in the region.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected a magnitude 2.6 quake on Monday at 11:40pm ET, just outside Chazy, about 25 miles south of Montreal, at a shallow depth of roughly five miles.
The quake occurred far from any tectonic plate boundary, deep within the North American Plate, making it a rare intraplate earthquake.
Tremors like this are uncommon in the northeastern US, where ancient faults only occasionally release built-up stress.
The tremor was lightly felt across the Lake Champlain Valley, including Plattsburgh, New York and Alburgh, Vermont, where residents reported a quick jolt lasting only a few seconds. More than 100 locals reported feeling shaking to the USGS.
This quake is unusual because the region lies far from plate boundaries, and its ancient faults only rarely release built-up stress.
The USGS noted that earthquakes of this size are unusual but not unheard of along the northern Appalachian fault zones.
No injuries or damage were reported; however, local emergency officials advised homeowners to inspect their foundations and outbuildings for cracks as a precaution.
The earthquake was detected outside of Chazy, New York, which is home to a few hundred people. More than 100 people reported shaking to the USGS
The earthquake highlights how even ancient, deep-seated faults can produce noticeable tremors far from plate boundaries.
The Adirondack region has seen several notable earthquakes over the years.
The largest on record struck in 1944, a magnitude 5.8 quake that caused roughly $20 million in damage in Massena, New York and Cornwall, Ontario.
A magnitude 4.9 tremor in 1983 caused minor damage in a remote part of the southern Adirondacks, and a magnitude 5.0 quake near Plattsburgh, New York, on April 20, 2002, also produced localized damage.
Moderately damaging earthquakes typically occur somewhere in the region every few decades, while smaller quakes are felt every three to four years.
While Monday’s earthquake was small, an assessment from Michigan Tech University showed that people typically do not feel quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or less.
Those from 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt but only cause minor damage.
The area near Chazy is situated within the Champlain Thrust Fault Zone, a significant geological feature that extends from southern Quebec through western Vermont and into eastern New York.
The earthquake struck about three miles outside of Chazy at 11:40pm on Monday
This east-dipping thrust fault was primarily active during the Taconic Orogeny in the Ordovician period, approximately 450 million years ago, and has experienced reactivation during subsequent tectonic events, such as the Acadian Orogeny in the Devonian period.
Although the Champlain Thrust is an ancient fault, it is not considered dormant.
The region’s seismic activity, including the recent magnitude 2.6 earthquake near Chazy, suggests that these faults can still produce noticeable tremors, albeit infrequently.
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