Small Earthquake Hits Northern Virginia Town of Annandale

A small earthquake hit the Northern Virginia town of Annandale, which is located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The earthquake reached a magnitude of 1.8 with its epicenter about 1 mile west-southwest of Annandale, VA. It occurred at 1:30 p.m approximately 6.2 miles below ground.

The most recent earthquake recorded in the Northern Virginia area was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake near Manassas, Va., on Sept. 29, 1997.

On Feb. 23, 2005, there was a 2.1 magnitude earthquake in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Earthquakes with a magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually called microearthquakes, and about 1,000 occur around the world each day.

The largest recorded earthquake centered in Virginia occurred on May 31, 1897 near Giles County. The magnitude was 5.9 and extended from Lynchburg, VA west to Bluefield, WV and from Giles County south to Bristol, TN.