Earthquakes in Delaware and surrounding areas have been well documented historically since about the early 1700âs and since 1972 by instrumental records. Most of the Delaware events have occurred in the Wilmington area immediately adjacent to or within rocks of the Wilmington Complex. Since the compilation of earthquakes by Jordan and others (1974) which lists events through May 1974, six felt earthquakes have occurred in northern Delaware and about 20 additional events in Delaware have been recorded on seismographs of the Delaware Geological Survey. Four of the felt events took place from November 1983 through February 1984 and ranged from a magnitude 1.5 to 2.9. The highest intensity for this series of earthquakes was a possible V (Modified Mercalli). Epicenters were generally in the north Wilmington area as determined both instrumentally and by felt reports.
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University of Delaware
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