The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, beneath the Ionian Sea, roughly 35 km off the coast of the Greek island of Zakinthos, slightly before 12.20 pm local time (slightly before 11.20 am GMT) on Monday 9 September 2013. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event, though shaking was reportedly felt on Zakinthos.
The approximate location of the 9 September 2013 Ionian Sea Earthquake. Google Maps.
Southern Greece is located on the Aegean Sea Plate, a small tectonic plate caught between the African Plate to the south, the Anatolian Plate to the east and the Eurasian Plate to the northwest. The Anatolian Plate is being pushed to the west by the northward movement of the Arabian Plate to the east, pushing the Aegean Plate south and west into collision with the northward moving African Plate. Part of the African Plate is being subducted beneath the Aegean Plate along the Hellenic Trench, Which runs to the south of the Greek Islands from Cyprus to Crete then northwest under the Ionian sea parallel to the Peloponnesian Coast is not a smooth process, as the plates frequently stick together then break apart once the pressure has built up sufficiently, leading to (fairly frequent) Earthquakes.
See also Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in western Romania, Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake of the south coast of Crete, Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake in Montenegro, Earthquake on the Gulf of Corinth and Earthquake rattles Crete.
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