Americans from Atlanta to New England to Chicago were surprised by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was in central Virginia and experts believe it to be the strongest quake on record for the region. Why was this quake bigger? Why was it felt so far away from the epicenter? Does this mean bigger quakes will become more common there? How active are the fault lines in the eastern United States? We discuss it all with Daniel McNamara, seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center.
