The Virginia Seismic Zone in the U.S. state of Virginia covers about 8,000 km2 (~3,000 mi2) in the Piedmont province. Earthquakes in the state are irregular and rarely top 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale.
Contents |
| Date | Magnitude | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 21, 1774 | 4.5 | Near Petersburg, Prince George County | |
| August 27, 1833 | 4.5 | Central Virginia | |
| April 2, 1852 | 4.3 | Near Buckingham | Central Virginia, about 55 km south of Charlottesville |
| April 29, 1852 | 4.9 | Near Wytheville | Wythe County |
| December 22–23, 1875 | 4.5 | Central Virginia | Near the James River waterfront in Goochland and Powhatan Counties, and in Louisa County |
| May 3, 1897 | 4.3 | near Radford | Southwest Virginia |
| May 31, 1897 | 5.9 [1] or 5.8 [2] | Giles County | Largest earthquake in intensity; large areal extent with aftershocks continuing through June 6, 1897[3] |
| February 5, 1898 | unknown | Pulaski, Virginia | |
| February 11, 1907 | unknown | Near Arvonia | Buckingham County |
| April 9–10, 1918 | unknown | Luray | Page County |
| September 5–6, 1919 | unknown | Near Front Royal | Warren County |
| December 25–26, 1929 | unknown | Charlottesville | Albemarle County |
| April 23, 1959 | 3.8 | Giles County | strongest at Eggleston and Pembroke[4] |
| April 11, 1975 | unknown | Southwest Virginia, near Blacksburg | Montgomery County |
| December 9, 2003 15:59 EST | 4.5 | 37.599N -77.932W | in the foothills about 30 miles (48 km) west of Richmond and was felt as far away as Norfolk |
| May 6, 2008 13:30 EDT | 1.9 | 38.80N -77.15W | epicenter was 1 mile SW Annandale;[5] |
| May 16, 2009 04:08 EDT | 3.0 | 37.25N -80.00W | in Roanoke County, just outside the City of Roanoke;[6] |
| July 6, 2009 23:59:52 EDT | 2.3 | 37.64N -77.64W | about 1 km SW of Short Pump; Magnitude 2.3[7] |
| July 16, 2010 05:18 EDT | 3.6 | 39.187N 77.286W | between Germantown and Gaithersburg, Maryland;[8] |
| August 23, 2011 13:51 EDT[1] | 5.8 | 37.936N 77.933W | Louisa County, VA, 5 miles SSW of Mineral and 37 miles NW of Richmond |
On December 9, 2003 at 3:59 p.m. EST (20:59 UTC), a magnitude 4.5 event occurred near Farmville, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Richmond, Virginia, and was felt strongly across Virginia. Tremors were reported in North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and suburban Maryland, eastern West Virginia, southern Pennsylvania, and portions of the Delmarva Peninsula. This event was located at 37.728° N, 78.087° W, at a depth of less than 5 km (3.1 mi) and may have occurred due to rupture along the Lakeside fault.[9]
The December earthquake was preceded by a magnitude 3.8 event on May 5, 2003 whose epicenter was located approximately 40 miles NNE near Cartersville, VA.[10]
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a magnitude 5.8 Mw earthquake hit Virginia on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 17:51:04 UTC (1:51 pm Eastern Daylight Time). The quake occurred at an approximate depth of 3.7 miles and was centered in Louisa County (location at 37.936°N, 77.933°W), 5 miles SSW of Mineral, Virginia and 37 miles NW of Richmond, Virginia's capital.[11] Shaking was felt from from Atlanta, Georgia to Illinois to Detroit, Michigan to Toronto, Ontario to New Brunswick.[12][13] Many Washington, DC buildings saw precautionary evacuations.[14][15] The earthquake caused an estimated $70 million in damage in Louisa County and forced Louisa County High School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School to close for the year as well as rendered about a dozen homes unlivable.[16][17] Other buildings were damaged as far away as Prince George's County, Maryland. Three decorative pinnacles at Washington National Cathedral fell.[18] The Washington Monument was closed due to cracks in the top section.
A 4.2 aftershock occurred in central Virginia at approximately 8:05pm EDT, August 23, 2011.
Another 4.5 magnitude was detected just south of Mineral, Virginia on August 25, 2011 at 1:07:50 EDT. [19]