The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 28.5 km, roughly 4 km to the south of the town of Spuž in southern Montenegro, slightly after 7.30 pm local time (slightly after 6.30 pm GMT) on Tuesday 10 December 2013. People close to the epicenter of this quake reported feeling shaking and hearing a roaring sound for 10-15 seconds, but there are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this event.
The approximate location of the 10 December 2013 Spuž Earthquake. Google Maps.
The coastal region of Montenegro, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, forms the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.
See also Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake in southeast Croatia, Magnitude 3.1 Earthquake in northern Macedonia, Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake in eastern Austria, Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in western Romania and Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake off the Adriatic Coast of Italy.
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