Earthquake outside Sparta Saturday morning is NC’s 16th of the year

SPARTA, N.C. (WNCN) — Another small quake shook the mountainous area of North Carolina near the Virginia border early Saturday morning.

A magnitude 2.2. earthquake shook the Sparta area at 5:44 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter of the quake was located about 4.1 miles south-southeast of Sparta, 26.9 miles west of Mount Airy and 36.5 miles east-north-east of Boone.

The earthquake is already the 16th recorded in North Carolina in 2024 and the fourth within the last month. On June 18, there were two recorded just minutes apart . There were 21 total in the state in 2023.

Though the state is not known for being a center of seismic activity, small quakes can happen, especially in the mountains.

“Most earthquakes recorded in the Carolinas are magnitude 2.5 or less,” says CBS 17 Chief Meteorologist Wes Hohenstein. “While there have been large earthquakes in the Carolinas in the past, the overall risk of quakes is low.”

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