ROSMAN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A minor earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.0 was recorded early Monday morning about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) west of Rosman, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake occurred at 4:29 a.m. EDT (08:29 UTC) and was centered at a depth of approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers), at coordinates 35.148°N and 82.930°W.
Although too weak to be felt by most residents or cause damage, the tremor was picked up by regional seismographs. Earthquakes of this magnitude are common and often go unnoticed by people on the surface, but they are routinely detected by sensitive monitoring equipment. The USGS estimates that millions of such minor quakes occur globally each year.
This is the second minor quake reported near Rosman in recent weeks. On July 12, a magnitude 2.2 earthquake struck the same general area. That event had a shallower depth of 0.2 kilometers and also went largely unnoticed by the public.
While small earthquakes are not uncommon in the region, stronger tremors can occasionally be felt. In May, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake centered in eastern Tennessee was felt across parts of western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina.
Rosman, located in Transylvania County, lies in a mountainous area of Western North Carolina and is home to about 573 residents.
Nearby cities include Easley, South Carolina (28 miles southeast) and Hendersonville (28 miles east-northeast). The epicenter was approximately 128 miles northeast of Atlanta.