Small Earthquake Recorded Overnight in North Jersey

RINGWOOD, NJ - A small earthquake was recorded in Passaic County early Saturday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The 2.1 magnitude earthquake centered around Ringwood struck at 12:58 a.m. Tremors were felt in surrounding towns of West Milford and Wanaque, according to USGS.

In contrast to earthquakes on the West Coast, where scientists are able to determine the name of the specific fault responsible for an earthquake, this is not the case for earthquakes recorded east of the Rocky Mountains. According to the USGS, the New York City-Philadelphia-Wilmington corridor is laced with faults but many smaller or deeply buried faults remain undetected making it difficult to link earthquakes in the region to named faults.

According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, eastern earthquakes affect areas ten times larger than those in the west of the same magnitude.

Click here for a full history of earthquakes in New Jersey.

Image via USGS