5 Earthquakes Occur Within 1 Mile of Each Other Over The Past 2 Weeks in Haywood County, NC

Buffalo Springfield would say “There’s somethin happening here. what is is ain’t exactly clear”, and there is never a more true statement about what has occurred in Canton, NC over the past 2 weeks. No I am not here to discuss the Mill closing, though that certainly sent a metaphorical earthquake through our entire community. I want to bring your attention to just north of the mill off of Thickety Rd.

There is something happening here. The USGS has recorded 5 separate Earthquakes over the past 2 weeks all within 1 mile of each other. Below you can see the epicenters along with their times from the 5 that have occurred since May 23rd. There is also another dot on the map for one that occurred near the area in 2019.

What Is Going On?

There is nothing certain here, but there is something certainly going on. Is this area on an old fault line or is there some type of mining going on? Looking at current fault maps produced by USGS which you can see below, the closest fault line is in Catalochee. There is also one that runs near the French Broad River in Woodfin, but it is around 15 miles from these Epicenters. You can see the WNC Fault Lines below (thin red lines).

With these not occurring in or around a fault line, there must be something else to blame here. Drilling and mining are other actions that have been known to produce earthquakes. Fracking has also been blamed for shakes that register on the Richter Scale.

More Research Is Necessary

This article was written mainly to inform you of the 5 Earthquakes that have occurred over the past 2 weeks within 1 mile of each other. There will need to be significant investigation as to why these occurred and I have only offered up a few possiblities. I am not a degreed geologist, so more insight into this can likely be provided by the USGS. One thing is for certain though, 5 Earthquakes have occurred within the 2 weeks off Thickety Rd in Canton, NC!