HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. (Bergen County) — A small earthquake rattled parts of New Jersey on Saturday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The magnitude 3.0 quake struck just northeast of Hasbrouck Heights at 10:18 p.m. and occurred at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the USGS said.
The quake was the result of faulting at shallow depths in the Earth’s crust. Though not located near a plate boundary, the event is classified as an “intraplate” earthquake, a type that can and does occur within tectonic plates.
While considered minor by global standards, earthquakes of this magnitude are often widely felt in the eastern United States due to the region’s efficient seismic wave propagation, USGS officials noted.
Earthquakes in the region are relatively infrequent but not unexpected. In April 2024, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Tewksbury — roughly 60 kilometers west-southwest of Saturday’s event — was felt across the Northeast. However, USGS stated that Saturday’s earthquake is not an aftershock of the April 2024 quake, given the distance between them, although felt aftershocks from the earlier quake continue.
Since 1950, at least 43 other earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater have been recorded within 250 kilometers of the August 2 event. The largest among them was the Tewksbury quake in 2024.
The USGS said the August 2 earthquake occurred in a region where faults have been previously identified and could become reactivated at any time.
