Earthquakes in North Dakota?

Come on.  We've never had an earthquake in North Dakota before?  That is what a lot of people believe.  More on that in a moment.

We all know places like California and Alaska are prone to earthquakes.

According to an article on Judy the San Andreas fault that runs hundreds of miles through the state of California is one of the most likely places you will run into a big rumbler.  The plates along the fault only move a few inches a year, but the friction can be enough to cause massive earthquakes.  Most experts in the field believe it's not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" California will experience another devasting earthquake.

Other states besides California and Alaska with the most seismic activity in the United States include Nevada, Hawaii, Washington state, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Oregon.  All of the states in the west are closer to the divide between the North American and Pacific plates.

I myself have been in several earthquakes when I lived in California for a couple of years and to be honest, I'm not sure if I even felt anything.  One incident happened at work in Santa Barbara, California when one of my co-workers said to me,  "did you feel that?"  He was on the other side of the room?  Believe it or not, I didn't.  That's how subtle some of the quakes can be.  Of course, they can be the polar opposite and really rock the room too.

So, what about the states with the fewest earthquakes? 

Good chance you're living in one of them.  They would be Florida and North Dakota.  In fact, the last time we felt a quake in North Dakota was all the way back in 1975 and that was actually from an earthquake centered in Minnesota.  According to Infoplease, the last time North Dakota felt a shaker where the epicenter was in North Dakota you have to go all the way back to 1968.  That's when the Huff Hills was "rockin".  A 4.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Huff, North Dakota, just south of Mandan.

Now, you know.  We do get earthquakes in North Dakota but thankfully very rarely.


 

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