Why is North Notts so prone to earthquakes?

A map showing places where last night's earthquake was felt

North Nottinghamshire is the earthquake capital of the UK, but why is this?

Experts believe the answer lies in the region’s coal mining heritage.

The coalfields of Britain are frequently the source areas of small to moderate earthquakes and tremors.

North Notts is the earthquake capital of the UK

Earlier this year there was a swarm of small earthquakes in the New Ollerton area, and similar events occurred in Edwinstowe in 1989 and 1990.

The 5 largest earthquakes to hit the UK since the start of the 20th Century

In the 1980s and 1990s mining events accounted for approximately 25 per cent of all the earthquakes recorded in the UK.

Earth moves for Mansfield, Hucknall and Ashfield residents as ‘earthquake’ shakes the area

Since the rapid decline of mining activity in the UK there has been a general decrease in the number of these events, however, events may still occur in these areas years after all mining activity has ceased.

So what causes an earthquake?

Earthquakes generally result from slip along a pre-existing fault in the Earth.

The slip is triggered when the stress acting along the fault exceeds the frictional resistance to sliding.