Northern Illinois Shaken by 9 Quakes-Did You Feel the 2 Biggest?

One natural disaster that normally does not come into mind when it comes to the northern half of Illinois is earthquakes, but did you know that there have been 9 significant tremors in that region in the past two decades? There were 2 that were felt by many including one Illinois earthquake that was felt by more than 7,000 residents.

Since I'm an earthquake nerd, this quest began simply as a curiosity. There have been more Illinois earthquakes recently than I'm used to seeing so I decided to see exactly how many tremors have shaken the Land of Lincoln and what I found was fascinating. According to the USGS, there have been just over 100 earthquakes specifically centered in Illinois since the year 2000. What caught my eye were the surprising number in the northern half of the state. The USGS database includes 9 northern Illinois earthquakes in the past 25 years.

Among that list are several that were felt by thousands. Here are the 5 strongest magnitude northern Illinois quakes since 2000. The 3.2 earthquake in Lyons, Illinois on November 4, 2013 was felt by more than 700 in Chicago.

By far the most significant was a magnitude 4.2 quake on June 28, 2004 that more than 7,000 reportedly felt according to the USGS. It was even felt in southern Wisconsin according to TV reports.

Many are familiar with the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone and the infamous New Madrid Fault in the southern part of Illinois and Missouri. The one mostly unknown fault is the Sandwich Fault Zone in northern Illinois. While earthquakes in this part of Illinois are not common or normally strong if they happen, it's not impossible that the region could experience a damaging quake someday. This list is a reminder that even in northern Illinois, you need to be earthquake-aware.