Shake it off: NC experiences 21 earthquakes in 2023, USGS data shows
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina doesn’t exactly shake, rattle and roll like other parts of the country or the world, but over 20 earthquakes shook up the Tar Heel State in 2023.
The United States Geological Survey’s earthquake data shows 21 tremblors hit North Carolina this year, though most of them were too small to feel or in areas that are not heavily populated.
The largest one was a magnitude 3.2 quake that hit 2.5 miles north-northwest of West Canton on June 4. That was followed later that day by a 2.2-magnitude one with an epicenter 1.9 miles north of West Canton.
Loud boom heard and felt in Hillsborough Thursday was an earthquake, USGS confirms
Most of the earthquakes were also fairly shallow, with more than half of them hitting at a depth of a mile or less below the surface of the earth.
The majority of the quakes occurred in the western part of the state, particularly around West Canton in Haywood County, although an October one took parts of the Triangle by surprise.
On Oct. 19, an unexplained loud boom and shaking were reported by people in Orange County. That mysterious event was later confirmed to be an earthquake by USGS scientists and seismologists. The epicenter of that magnitude 2.2 quake was determined to be in a Hillsborough neighborhood just south of the interchange between Interstate 40 and Interstate 85.
Though there is no earthquake “season,” over half of the quakes in North Carolina this year hit in the months of April, May and June. May was especially busy, with six shaking up western areas of the state. Three of those tremblors hit the same area north of West Canton on the same day — May 25.
The last earthquake in North Carolina this year was on Nov. 4 when a 2.5-magnitude quake struck in the mountains. Its epicenter was 4.3 miles west-southwest of Bryson City.
Earthquakes in North Carolina in 2023 (per USGS data)
Date | Location | Magnitude | Depth |
1/10/23 | 3.7 mi. SE of Mountain View, NC | 1.2 | 2.2 mi. |
1/19/23 | Tennessee-North Carolina border region | 2.2 | 0.0 mi. |
1/28/23 | 5.6 mi. SSE of West Jefferson, NC | 1.8 | 2.4 mi. |
4/5/23 | 35.193 N, 82.665 W | 2.1 | 3.4 mi. |
4/12/23 | 7.5 mi. N of Old Fort, NC | 1.8 | 3.4 mi. |
5/12/23 | 0.6 mi. NNW of Pineville, NC | 2.1 | 0.0 mi |
5/14/23 | 8.7 mi. ENE of Ducktown, TN | 1.9 | 5.8 mi. |
5/23/23 | 2.5 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 2.8 | 0.8 mi. |
5/25/23 | 2.5 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 2.2 | 0.1 mi. |
5/25/23 | 2.5 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 2.4 | 0.1 mi. |
5/25/23 | 2.5 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 1.8 | 1.0 mi. |
6/4/23 | 2.5 mi. NNW of West Canton, NC | 3.2 | 0.1 mi. |
6/4/23 | 1.9 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 2.2 | 1.4 mi. |
6/6/23 | North Carolina | 2.5 | 0.1 mi. |
6/16/23 | 2.5 mi. N of West Canton, NC | 2.1 | 0.1 mi. |
8/15/23 | 2.5 mi. WSW of McLeansville, NC | 2.3 | 0.1 mi. |
8/15/23 | 1.9 mi. WSW of McLeansville, NC | 2.2 | 0.1 mi. |
10/1/23 | 35.399 N, 83.626 W | 2.0 | 0.1 mi. |
10/18/23 | 35.206 N, 84.245 W | 1.9 | 4.5 mi. |
10/19/23 | Hillsborough, NC | 2.2 | 3.4 mi. |
11/4/23 | 4.3 mi. WSW of Bryson City, NC | 2.5 | 8.1 mi. |
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