GREENSBORO, N.C. — In case you somehow didn't happen to notice, the USGS (United States Geological Survey) reported a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook up the Triad and other parts of North Carolina Sunday morning!
According to the USGS, the earthquake was centered near Sparta, NC just after 8 a.m
A large earthquake shook North Carolina Sunday AM. The epicenter was near Sparta
The USGS database indicates that Sunday morning's earthquake was the strongest earthquake to directly hit North Carolina in more than 100 years! That dates back to 1916 when a 5.2 earthquake happened near Skyland, NC close to Asheville.
With the last earthquake hitting North Carolina that long ago. We figured you might have some questions, here are some simple explanations from the USGS to help you better understand earthquakes!
So what is an earthquake?
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterward in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock!
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Credit: WFMY News 2