3.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Maine rocks parts of Boston
A 3.8 magnitude earthquake shook parts of New England on Monday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake occurred around 10:30 a.m. about 8 miles of the coast of York Harbor in Southern Maine, USGS reported.
The New England earthquake was originally reported at a magnitude of 4.1 on Monday but was then downgraded to a 3.8 magnitude by the USGS.
No damage or injuries were immediately reported. People in the Boston area reported on social media that they felt some shaking and an intensity map available on the USGS's website showed reports of light vibrations as far south as Rhode Island.
Residents in the suburbs of Boston felt a "long, steady rumbling" that lasted several seconds and reported seeing trees swaying, according to the local news station NBC Boston.
Earthquakes occur much less frequently in the eastern United States than in the West. Moderately sized quakes strike New England every few decades while smaller quakes shake the region roughly twice a year, according to the USGS.
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tewksbury, New Jersey last April, sparking tremors up and down the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and causing shaking as far north as Connecticut.
More: How rare are East Coast earthquakes?
One of the largest earthquakes ever reported in New England happened off the coast of Massachusetts near Cape Ann in 1755.
Historians and seismologists estimate the earthquake's magnitude at around 6.0, based on comparisons of damage reports to those from modern earthquakes. Damage from the storm, including collapsed chimneys and debris-riddled streets, were reported from Portland, Maine to New Haven, Conn., according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Seismologists record about 900,000 earthquakes worldwide every year, but the vast majority occur along plate boundaries not found in the eastern and midwestern U.S., according to Michigan Technological University's Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.
Earthquakes on the east coast can affect larger areas than similar sized earthquakes in the West, according to the USGS. A 2011 5.8 magnitude earthquake n Virgina was felt up to 600 miles from where it began. A 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Napa, Calif in 2014 was only felt around 250 miles from its epicenter, the USGS reported.
The reason is thar rocks in the eastern U.S. are much older than in the West, in some cases by millions of years. Those older rocks are harder and denser, making it easier for seismic waves to travel across them. In the West, faults are newer and absorb more of the seismic wave energy, so earthquakes don't travel as far.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Dinah Pulver, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 3.8 magnitude earthquake hits Maine, shaking the Boston area
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