New York State, often associated with its bustling cities and scenic landscapes, might not immediately bring earthquakes to mind. However, earthquakes do occur regularly within New York’s borders. While major, highly damaging tremors are infrequent, smaller, less impactful seismic events are a consistent part of the state’s geological reality.
New York’s Seismic Landscape
New York experiences seismic activity, with thousands of earthquakes recorded over the past century. The state averages around 18 earthquakes per year, though many of these are minor, typically under magnitude 3, and are often too small to be widely felt by residents. The majority of earthquakes in New York tend to be shallow, often originating at depths of less than 10 kilometers. This shallow depth can sometimes lead to more intensely felt shaking at the surface, even for moderate magnitude events.
Seismic activity across New York State is not uniformly distributed but tends to concentrate in specific regions. Three primary zones exhibit higher earthquake frequency: the area surrounding New York City, the Adirondack Mountains, and the western region, particularly west of Rochester. While most recorded events are small, earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater occur roughly once every 100 years in the region.
Underlying Geological Causes
Earthquakes in New York occur in an intraplate environment, meaning it lies well within the stable North American plate, far from where tectonic plates meet. The North American Plate is in constant, albeit slow, motion, moving west-southwest at approximately 2.3 centimeters per year. This movement is driven by forces originating from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge’s spreading center, located thousands of kilometers away.
The stress from this ongoing plate movement accumulates within the ancient crust of eastern North America. This accumulated stress releases along pre-existing weaknesses within the crust. These weaknesses are typically ancient fault lines that formed during past geological events, such as the collision of continents that created the Appalachian Mountains hundreds of millions of years ago. Though these faults have been dormant for vast periods, they can become reactivated under the current stress field.
Several fault systems are recognized in New York State. The Clarendon-Linden fault system, a significant network of fault lines in western New York, extends north-south and is responsible for much of the seismic activity in that region. Another notable feature is the Ramapo Fault, which stretches over 300 kilometers across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. While the Ramapo Fault is a recognized zone of weakness, the exact relationship between specific mapped faults and earthquake occurrences in the New York City area is complex and not always a direct correlation. Additionally, the Earth’s crust is still gradually rebounding from the immense weight of the glaciers during the last Ice Age, a process known as glacial rebound, which can also contribute to stress on underlying fault structures.
Notable Historical Earthquakes
New York’s seismic history includes several significant events. One notable earthquake struck the New York City area on August 10, 1884, with an estimated magnitude of approximately 5.0 to 5.3. This tremor caused bricks to fall and plaster to crack, and was felt from eastern Pennsylvania to central Connecticut.
The largest known earthquake occurred on September 5, 1944, impacting the Cornwall-Massena region near the New York-Canada border. This event registered a magnitude of 5.8 and caused substantial damage. In Massena, New York, approximately 90 percent of chimneys were damaged or destroyed, and significant structural issues were reported. The shaking from this earthquake was felt over vast distances, reaching as far as Maine, Michigan, and Maryland.
More recently, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, on April 5, 2024, was widely felt across New York. Its relatively shallow depth of about 5 kilometers contributed to the intense shaking experienced across the region. Other recent notable tremors include a magnitude 3.8 earthquake near Buffalo on February 6, 2023, and a magnitude 3.0 event in New Jersey on August 2, 2025, which was felt in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Monitoring and Research Efforts
Seismic activity in New York State is monitored and studied by scientific institutions. Instrumental earthquake monitoring began in the early 1900s, with routine reporting established by 1938. These efforts help understand the state’s seismic hazards.
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University, located in Palisades, New York, plays a central role in this monitoring. LDEO operates the Lamont-Doherty Cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN), which includes about 44 seismographic stations throughout the northeastern United States. This network collects real-time data to evaluate earthquake hazards and understand regional tectonics.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also provides earthquake data and maps, collaborating with regional networks like LCSN as part of the Advanced National Seismic System. The data collected by seismographs allows scientists to determine the time, location, and magnitude of earthquakes. Ongoing research helps scientists refine their understanding of how seismic energy propagates through the East Coast’s older, denser crust, which can transmit shaking over larger distances compared to the western U.S.