Scientist: Earthquakes more common long ago
Stony Brook University geology professor Daniel Davis points to a seismogram that depicts the 3.9-magnitude earthquake that was felt on parts of Long Island. (Nov. 30, 2010) Credit: Gregory A. Shemitz
Hundreds of millions of years ago - eons before Long Island even existed - this part of the world routinely seized with earthquakes, volcanoes spewed lava, and the violent collision of tectonic plates thrust up mountains taller than the Himalayas.
"To be able to live here at that time, there would have been countless earthquakes," said William Holt, a geophysicist at Stony Brook University. "A truly big one once a century."
Today? Not so much.
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Memorial Day 2026: NewsdayTV honors those we've lost A brave young patriot receives a burial 83 years after being lost in war. Volunteers restore a Revolutionary War cemetery. A Gold Star mom makes it her mission to honor her son's sacrifice. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie shares three stories in honor of Memorial Day.
