South Carolina earthquakes occur with the greatest frequency along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston area. South Carolina is the most seismically active state on the east coast.[1] At 7.3 magnitude, the Charleston earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake to ever hit the Eastern United States. This earthquake killed at least 60 people and destroyed much of the city. Aftershocks, some of them large enough to be damaging by themselves, continued for years.
Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them. Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries.[2][3]
Prehistoric earthquakes of similar size to the 1886 shock have occurred in coastal South Carolina at intervals of several centuries to several thousands of years. In recent decades, damaging earthquakes much smaller than that of 1886 have occurred every decade or two, most recently in 2014 (magnitude 4.1). Typically, smaller earthquakes are felt each year or two. East of the Rockies, an earthquake shakes the ground over an area up to ten times the area typically shaken by a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. For example, an eastern magnitude 4.0 earthquake typically can be felt at many locations as far as 100 km (60 mi) from where it occurred, and it might or might not cause damage near its source. An eastern magnitude 5.5 earthquake usually can be felt out to 500 km (300 mi) in most directions and can cause damage out to 40 km (25 miles).[3]
^Smith, Nevin. "DHEC answers: Is mining causing the recent earthquakes?". WISTV. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^(Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.)
^ abCite error: The named reference seabrook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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