Talk about a wake up call.

On April 20, 2002, I was engaging in the activity most college students do at 6:50 A.M. on a Saturday, sleeping.

I was suddenly awakened by what seemed to be the sound of a low-flying plane passing over my building. With my eyes closed, I felt my bed trembling as the windowpane rattled wildly. In my groggy state, it crossed my mind that maybe it wasn't a plane that disturbed my slumber.

Could I have just experienced an earthquake?

Nah. Earthquakes don't happen in New York! They only happen in places like California and Alaska, right? wrong!

"Northern New York is the most seismically active area in New York State," says Frank Revetta, Seismologist and Geology Professor at the State University of New York at Potsdam. "Most of the earthquakes are two to four in magnitude, while smaller events that are less than two may not even be felt." Revetta runs the SUNY Potsdam Seismic Network and has been tracking earthquakes in this area for nearly 30 years.

These numbers that Revetta is referring to are from the Richter scale system of earthquake measurement, which records the impact and intensity of earthquakes. A seismometer senses motion in the earth, and a seismograph records the motion. Using the record of the seismograph, scientists can estimate where an earthquake's intensity measures on the Richter scale. Each whole number on the scale increases by 10. For instance, an earthquake measured at 6.0 is 10 times more powerful than one measured at 5.0.

The April 2002 Au Sable Forks quake was a magnitude 5.3, and shook houses as far away as Maryland. It's origin, Black Brook, New York, is 15 miles southwest of Plattsburgh. While there were no reports of significant damages or injuries, some roadways did suffer noticeable damage from the moderate quake.

What's the deal?

Lets start with a little science lesson. When a moderate earthquake happens, you know it because the ground is shaking or trembling. Scientifically what's happening here, is that the ground is releasing energy, which causes it to shake or vibrate. The technical term for this vibration is seismic waves. For a more in-depth analysis of what makes earthquakes occur, check out Earthquake Facts & Follies.

While most seismic activity takes place where the plates meet, earthquakes also occur at fault lines that are within the plates themselves. Mary Roden-Tice, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Plattsburgh State University, pointed out on a detailed map, that there are hundreds, possibly thousands of fault lines in the New York State region.

"The St. Lawrence River Valley is an ancient fault zone," says Roden-Tice. "The earthquakes in northern New York occur in a belt that extends from the Adirondacks, across the St. Lawrence Valley, and into western Quebec," adds Revetta. "The cause of these earthquakes is unknown for certain. However, the favored theory is that they are due to the reactivation of faults at a shallow depth, since most of the quakes in the Adirondacks have shallow focal depths."

Should New York be expecting "the big one" anytime soon? "It's very unlikely," says Roden-Tice.

I know I can sleep much better now knowing that.

Have some shattering news? Let us know!

Staggering Stats! -The largest earthquake in the world occurred in Chile during 1960. It measured at a deadly 9.5 magnitude and resulted in the deaths of over 6,000 people. The tsunami that was triggered by the quake killed people as far as Hawaii and Japan! -The largest earthquake in the United States took place in Alaska on March 27, 1964. At a magnitude of 9.2, the amount of energy released was equal to 240 million tons of TNT! -A 1556 earthquake in China was responsible for the deaths of approximately 830,000 people, making it the greatest number of earthquake fatalities ever recorded.