Fact Friday 260 - City Is Visited By An Earthquake
Happy Friday!
On August 9, 2020 North Carolina was rattled by its largest earthquake since Feb. 21, 1916, when Asheville was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude estimated between 5.2 to 5.6. Here's the headline from the Charlotte Observer's local coverage of the 1916 earthquake from the following morning.
City is Visited by an Earthquake, Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, North Carolina), February 22, 1916: 3. Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. https://bit.ly/30H9Du9.
This year's event was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake centered just over a mile south of Sparta, near the Virginia border. People in the immediate area of Sparta reported “strong shaking,” the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake was centered about 2.2 miles deep, officials said. Photos posted on social media showed cracks in street pavement, brick facades on homes crumbling and items thrown off store shelves.
Until next week!
Chris.
Email me at chris@704shop.com if you have interesting Charlotte facts you’d like to share or just to provide feedback!
Information taken from:
UNC Charlotte Special Collections on Instagram | @unccspeccoll
Charlotte Observer, "Powerful 5.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Charlotte area, strongest in NC in 104 years," by Mark Price and Lauren Lindstrom, August 9, 2020.
“We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.” – Frederick Douglass