virginia: Excuse me but there are no fault lines in Virginia. The closest one is a thousand miles away. From my moderate knowledge of plate tectonics, earthquakes are, traditionally, due to one of two things: 1) release of energy due to friction between two plates or 2) volcanic activity. Neither of these apply to Virginia.|||First off, you are dead wrong about not having faults in Virginia. There was a quake, therefore they have a fault. *Everyplace* has faults. However, you are correct about the 'traditional' causes, but this is definitely a non-traditional quake. This is likely a product of strain built up by millions of years of the North American plate getting squeezed and pushed by the other faults, and an ancient fault zone snapped.|||鈥?I was asking the same question my self and found this site (http://www.virginiaplaces.org/geology/qu鈥?/a> that kind of explains it: "Two zones in Virginia are more susceptible to earthquakes than others, and can be identified by the rivers which follow those faults. The James River follows the Central Virginia Seismic Zone between Charlottesville and Richmond, while the New River follows the other zone from Radford to the West Virginia border...." "...The US east of the Mississippi has many fewer earthquakes than does the west, and obviously western quakes are stronger, but eastern earthquakes can cause more damage away from their origin. In the east the underlying bedrock is pretty well-connected (like a concrete slab). Eastern earthquakes can travel farther that in the west, where the underlying topography is so chopped-up (like a brick patio) that the energy of a quake is dissipated closer to the epicenter..."|||The Virginia Piedmont is lousy with faults... the structural relationships are pretty darned complex- a mess of accreted terranes from continental assembly and break-up in the Paleozoic. There's no major, contemporary tectonic plate boundary like the San Andreas, but the region is seismically active along a number of fault systems- the Spotsylvania is one that I recollect offhand, though I have minimal firsthand knowledge of the region. Perhaps an East-Coast geologist can weigh in.|||200-300 million years ago, virginia was actually a place of significant tectonic activity. The fault lines under virginia scarred over when the area moved away from the fault. The scars are like little weak faults that can still have pressure and eventually snap causing a smaller earthquake. It is rare to see an earthquake with that powerful force result from a scar|||We've gotten earthquakes in east TN, and there are no tectonic plate edges through here, either. Doesn't mean there cannot be a quake. Yes, the predominant cause is slippage along plate edges. But that's not the be-all end-all of tectonic activity. There are many fault zones that are well away from plate edges.|||The area of the quake sits in something called the "Central Virginia Seismic Zone". It has its earthquakes based on seismic wave activity and magma flows, rather than because the plates rub against one another.|||plates under the crust moving. just becase their isnt fault lines doesnt mean there cant be an earthquake. like the mountains were formed from earthquakes a long time ago the move and collide causing the earth to rise up. it happens sometimes|||Apparently President Obama going on vacation caused it. At least that's what Bachmann and co will be saying shortly.|||plate lines collidiing|||Apparently it just magically happened...... better do more research spaz|||The end of the world is comming!!!|||there's a big hole under virginia...its going to fall into the ground soon and atlantis will be found.