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Did You Feel Any of the Four Recent North Carolina Earthquakes?

North Carolina isn’t exactly a hotbed of earthquake activity, but there are a few small earthquakes here and there. There have actually been four measured earthquakes in North Carolina in…

North Carolina Earthquakes

While earthquakes aren’t super common in North Carolina, there have been a few in recent weeks.

Photo Illustration by Petrovich9 / Getty Images

North Carolina isn't exactly a hotbed of earthquake activity, but there are a few small earthquakes here and there.

There have actually been four measured earthquakes in North Carolina in the last two weeks. The biggest of the four was only 2.1 in magnitude.

  • August 16 - 1.8 magnitude, near Troutman, NC
  • August 14 - 2.0 magnitude near Spruce Pine, NC
  • August 8 - 2.0 magnitude near Archdale, NC
  • August 2 - 2.1 magnitude near Blowing Rock, NC

Most people won't feel earthquakes that small. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says that generally people won't really start feeling many earthquakes until they are somewhere around 3.5 on the Richter Scale.

An earthquake in 2011 was felt along most of the East Coast, and did cause some minor problems in North Carolina.

"Major earthquakes do not happen very often in North Carolina. Smaller earthquakes have been known to happen in the state," ReadyNC says in their earthquake preparation guide. "The 2011 East Coast earthquake reminded North Carolinians that earthquakes in other states can cause problems in our state."

Our neighbors to the South in South Carolina see a lot more earthquakes than we do. A recent story in The State, said that at least 68 earthquakes have been detected down there. And our neighbors to the West in Tennessee see a lot as well, especially in the mountains, which can sometimes be felt in North Carolina as well.


Fayetteville One of the Worst Cities for Naked Bike Riding

Sorry Fayetteville, we're ranked pretty low on the list for Best Cities for Naked Bike Riding.

Fayetteville came in a disappointing 156 out of 200 cities in the country when it comes to being able to bike in the buff. Wait... maybe this is actually a good thing, now that we think about.

According to a recent study from LawnStarter.com, Chicago, Illinois is the best city to strip down and go for a ride in America.

"Chi Town not only finished first in the Popularity category, but it’s also one of a handful that hosts a (warning: NSFW) World Naked Bike Ride. It’s au(nly) naturel that locals can barely contain their excitement about the event: Chicagoans searched for “naked bike ride” more times in the past 12 months than Googlers in any of the other 199 cities."

So, what exactly makes a city "good" for naked bike riding? Well, LawnStarter looked at several things here.

"We first studied the regulatory landscape in each city to help naked bikers avoid legal (and other) bumps on the road," LawnStarter said in its report. "We then considered the local popularity of naked biking, the size and activeness of the cycling community, and, of course, the climate."

Which, of course means that most of the "worst" places to get naked and ride are in the South, because who wants that sticky bike seat on their nether regions in this kind of heat???

"Better hide the family jewels before heading out for a ride in the South, which dominated the rear end of our ranking. Our not-so-bare bottom 10 includes cities like Clarksville, Tennessee (No. 1 worst), Jacksonville, Florida (No. 3), and Chesapeake, Virginia (No. 8)."

So, if stripping down and doing a little naked bike riding suits you, here's the 10 best places to pedal with your goodies out, as well as where some of the North Carolina cities ranked in the top 200.

The Top Cities in the Country for Naked Bike Riding

1. Chicago, Illinois

2. Portland, Oregon

3. Seattle, Washington

4. Austin, Texas

5. St. Louis, Missouri

6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

7. San Francisco, California

8. Madison, Wisconsin

9. Los Angeles, California

10. Boston, Massachusetts

North Carolina Cities in the Top 200

50. Charlotte

64. Durham

81. Raleigh

93. Winston-Salem

108. Greensboro

147. Cary

156. Fayetteville

The More You Know

fayetteville naked bike riding