Earthquakes aren’t common in the North Carolina mountains, so something unusual must be happening under Canton. Four quakes have been recorded in the past three days in the town, according to the United States Geological Survey, which reported the first one last Tuesday, May 23rd data shows. Then two days later three more hit, with two occurring within about 10 minutes of each other Thursday evening. No damage has been reported.
All four earthquakes were centered in a sparsely populated area north of Canton, along the east ridge of Chambers Mountain, maps show. The Appalachian Mountains are not on an active tectonic plate boundary – where earthquakes are common – but the region has sporadic minor quakes linked to old fault lines, geologists noted.
