Dalton Quake Creates Cartersville Stir

It was only a blip on the seismograph, but an earthquake in Dalton created a lot of conversation in Cartersville.

recorded the earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 2.7 that occurred about 5 miles deep.

"These relatively small earthquakes are not that rare, but they are exciting when they do occur," Curator Julian Gray said. "This area has periodic (every 5 to 10 years) minor earthquakes such as the one that struck Dalton."

"I work in Dalton and felt it and they are saying 2.5," said Cartersville Patch reader Lisa Maire Baldwin on our Facebook page. "It was like a rumble sounded like thunder but then realized it was not."

The quake—centered 1 mile west southwest of Dalton—hit at 11:44 a.m., added Gray.

"At 6:35 a.m. this morning there was a quake in the northwest corner of Tennessee. This was the same area that back in 1812 produced a quake that made the Mississippi run backwards," Natasha Baily Heimberg said via Facebook. "Estimates are it was in the 7 range on the Richter Scale."

The two quakes are not related, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported no damage in Dalton, although the courthouse was evacuated for a short time. Still, quakes are one way Mother Nature creates fear and concern.

"It's true. I also work in Dalton. It happened around 11:45," Kelli Rogers said on our Facebook page. "Getting scary the earthquakes are getting too close for comfort to an area where earthquake safety and preparedness info has been ignored and not shared for at least 30 years if not longer."

Tellus officials say if you felt the earthquake, you should report this to the U.S. Geological Survey. "Your personal account is vital to ongoing research on the seismicity of the area," Gray said