Rare 3.9-magnitude earthquake recorded in the Gulf
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For the first time since 2023, an earthquake was registered in the Gulf just under 300 miles from Dauphin Island.
The earthquake was registered as a 3.9-magnitude with a 10 kilometer depth by the U.S. Geological Survey. The event happened at 8:22PM on Sunday, March 29.
The USGS received two reports of feeling the quake in Florida but none in Alabama and officials said there was no tsunami threat that came with the earthquake.
“This earthquake occurred beneath the Gulf of America, far from the nearest active plate boundary. Such intraplate (mid-plate) earthquakes are infrequent compared to those that occur along plate-boundary faults and likely reflect the release of long-term tectonic stresses ultimately generated at the plate margins.”
U.S. Geological Survey
Gulf earthquake
The weekend’s earthquake was the largest recorded in the Gulf since 2022 but did not come close to the largest ever recorded in the body of water. That distinction belongs to a 2006 event that recorded a 5.9-magnitude quake.
USGS says there has been no causative fault identified for the earthquake.
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