SPARTA, GA (CBS46) – Residents in Sparta, Georgia reported feeling a 2.5 magnitude earthquake Wednesday night.
This isn’t a drill, but for perspective, there have been 11 earthquakes in the past 365 days in Georgia with magnitudes of 1.5 or greater.
The United States Geological Survey confirmed the reported quake took place in Hancock county just before 10 p.m. on Monday.
As of 10 p.m., there was no damage reported. This earthquake is the first in at least a year to be reported in this part of Georgia with two others reported in Ringgold and Eatonton about 2 years ago. Those were under 1.8 magnitude quakes.
The majority of earthquake activity in Georgia takes place west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area is known as the Appalachian Plateau, and is bound by two fault lines the Carter’s Dam Fault and the Emerson Fault.
The largest earthquake ever recorded on the Richter magnitude scale (the standard for measuring earthquakes) was a 9.5 magnitude earthquake in Chile, in May 1960.
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