A University of Kentucky geologist says the 4.3 magnitude earthquake that shook eastern Kentucky over the weekend was too deep to be induced by the region's underground mining activity.
The epicenter was about 10 miles west of Whitesburg, in the heart of Kentucky's coal country, where underground mining and surface blasting is common.
Zhenming Wang, the head of UK's Geologic Hazards Section, says Saturday's quake occurred about 12 miles below the surface, far too deep for underground mining to have been a factor.
Wang says the earthquake occurred near the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which receives a four-magnitude quake every five to ten years.
The Saturday quake just after noon caused little damage but was felt in West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Georgia.
