The Peach State is not typically a hotbed of seismic activity, but residents in pockets of North Georgia have been feeling some unexpected vibrations lately after the area has been jolted by five small earthquakes over the last 10 days. 

Georgia is located in the middle of the North American Plate, the vast tectonic plate that sits beneath almost all of North America, parts of the Caribbean, Greenland and much of the Atlantic Ocean. Earthquakes — particularly strong ones — are much more likely in places like California, which sit along major plate boundaries.

Still, small earthquakes are fairly common in Georgia, experts say. The state typically experiences between 10 and 20 earthquakes above magnitude 2.0 each year, said Andy Newman, professor and associate chair for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.

The three earthquakes at Lake Lanier’s southern end represent a “swarm” of seismic activity, but scientists say such clusters are also common.

“Generally, if you have one earthquake, the best place to guess where the next earthquake is going to occur is right near the same location,” Newman said.

(This also appeared at Macon Telegraph and Phys.org.)