Minor Tremor Not Related to April Quake Hits Parts of New York State

It's happened again, though this time the shaking is being felt in a completely different part of the region. Geologists say an earthquake struck parts of New York state late Tuesday morning.

The tremor comes a little over a month after a 4.8 earthquake struck northern New Jersey in April, which was felt by over 42 million people in a number of states. Well over one hundred aftershocks were felt through the weeks after the April 8 quake, though none of which caused any sort of significant damage.

The JS Held website says that hundreds of aftershocks can occur weeks, months, or even years after the initial quake. Tuesday's shaking however, is totally unrelated to April's moderate earthquake, according to geologists.

Minor Earthquake in Upstate New York 

PIX11 is reporting that an earthquake shook parts of upstate New York right before 10:30 Tuesday morning. The United States Geological Survey says the minor 2.1 tremor was centered around seven miles from the town of Elizabethtown in Essex County.

Tuesday's earthquake is unrelated to the April earthquake, and occurred no where near the Rampao Fault Line, the likely culprit for the Jersey tremor.

The recent Elizabethtown quake occurred in the Adirondacks, which NASA/ADS says sees tremors that are "regularly measured and felt in this area.". While not as geologically active as areas in the country near the Pacific coast, the mountain range in upstate New York still gets its share of seismic activity.

See Also: What's the Most Powerful Earthquake to Ever Strike New York State?

According to Adirondack Nature, the mountain range was formed "though a series of continental collisions and breakups, followed by an uplifting of unknown origin". Strong geological forces are still at work under the mountains, as Adirondeckalmanack says the area is "still growing, rising by around 2 to 3 millimeters every year; a rate which is faster than the rate of erosion."

Adirondeckalmanack says the slow but steady uplift is considered a geological mystery.

See Also: USGS Reports Uptick in Recent New York State Earthquake Activity

According to the NESEC, around 551 earthquakes were recorded in New York state from 1737-2016.