Magnitude 5.1 Au Sable Forks, New York
Saturday, April 20, 2002
Preliminary Earthquake Report
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Magnitude | 5.1 | |
Date-Time | 2002 04 20 10:50:47 UTC | ||
Location | 44.51N 73.51W | ||
Depth | 11.0 kilometers | ||
Region | NEW YORK | ||
Reference |
20 km (15 miles) SSW of Plattsburgh, New York 25 km (15 miles) W of Burlington, Vermont 80 km (50 miles) WNW of MONTPELIER, Vermont 205 km (130 miles) N of ALBANY, New York |
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Source | USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) | ||
Remarks | Some roads, bridges, chimneys and water lines damaged in Clinton and Essex Counties. Many buildings in the area had cracked walls and foundations, broken windows and small items knocked from shelves. Maximum intensity (VII) at Au Sable Forks. Felt from New Brunswick and Maine to Ohio and Michigan and from Ontario and Quebec to Maryland. | ||
Tectonic Setting
This earthquake occurred in the northeastern part of New York State, an area that experiences moderate-sized but infrequent seismic activity. Although earthquakes occur on geologic faults, in the northeastern U.S. it is difficult to assign an earthquake to a particular fault because they rarely cause surface rupture. The most recent nearby earthquake of note occurred 80 km to the southwest, a magnitude 5.1 event in 1983. The largest historic earthquake in the northeastern region of the U.S. and nearby parts of Canada had an estimated magnitude of 7. It occurred near Charlevoix, Quebec in 1663, 425 km to the northeast of this latest event. The pattern of historic seismicity can be seen in the USGS publication, "Earthquakes in and near the Northeastern United States, 1638 - 1998." |
Map of Mainshock & Aftershocks |
Map of Historical Seismicity |
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Theoretical P-Wave Travel Times
Earthquake Information for New York
Lamont-Doherty Seismic Network Special Event Page
Press Release-April 23, 2002: The University of Memphis/FedEx Send Aftershock Studies Team to New York
Preliminary Earthquake Report
USGS, Menlo Park, CA
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
U.C. Berkeley Seismological Laboratory,
Berkeley, California