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Earthquakes Common in Eastern U.S.

Although most people think of California when they think of earthquakes, the Feb. 10 quake in Arkansas was not unusual, said UAB geologist Scott Brande, Ph.D. “There are fault zones throughout the Eastern United States, and many are associated with the Appalachian Mountains.

The one causing the earthquake in Arkansas was the New Madrid seismic zone, which has a long history of earthquake activity. Hundreds of earthquakes occur there each year along the borders of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.”

The good news is that most of the earthquakes in the East don’t have the potential for intense damage like those in California because the eastern faults don’t lie on high-energy plate boundaries.

| newswise
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http://www.uab.edu

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