The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 2.6 Earthquake at a depth of 2.8 km in the Puna District on the southeast of Big Island, Hawaii, at 2.55 pm local time on Thursday 12 September 2013 (0.55 am on Friday 13 September, GMT). A quake of this size is unlikely to have caused any damage or casualties, but is quite likely to have been felt locally.
The approximate location of the 12 September 2013 Big Island Earthquake. Google Maps.
Big Island, Hawai'i, sits on top of a volcanic hotspot, an area where magma from deep inside the Earth is welling up through the overlying plate (in this case the Pacific) to create volcanism at the surface. The island comprises five overlapping shield volcanoes, two of which are currently active and another two of which are considered to be dormant with the possibility of reactivating in the future. Volcanoes move as they erupt, swelling as magma enters their chambers from bellow, then shrinking as that magma is vented as lava. The movements of a group of volcanoes close to one another can place considerable strain on layered rocks, and the islands of Hawai'i, and in particular Big Island, are very prone to Earthquakes, though these tend to be small and frequent rather than large, rare and destructive.
Witness accounts of quakes can help geologists to understand these events and the rock structures that cause them. If you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) you can report it to the USGS here.
See also Magnitude 2.8 Earthquake in Baja California, Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake on Mindanao Island, the Philippines, Eruption on Mount Shiveluch on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake on Mindanao Island, the Philippines and Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake in Inyo County, northern California.
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