ILLINOIS -- A rare 2.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded Wednesday, United States Geological Survey officials said.

The earthquake happened in Lake Michigan around 2:38 p.m. USGS officials said the location of the earthquake was about 13.8 miles northeast of Evanston. The quake was 3.1 miles deep in the lake.

Many residents of Chicago reported feeling the earthquake. Local officials confirmed that there were no reports of damage or injuries, and no reports of injured boaters or swimmers, and seismic waves in the lake were likely masked by normal wave activity.

This is considered extremely rare for the region, as most of North America east of the Rockies experiences infrequent earthquakes. The USGS notes that earthquakes in this area are usually caused by faulting within bedrock miles deep, not by active shifting tectonic plates.

Earth scientist Dr. Suzan Van Der Lee of Northwestern University explained that while the Chicago area is not on an active fault line, earthquakes can still occur in the middle of tectonic plates. She said aftershocks are possible but unlikely to be felt due to their smaller magnitude.

It may be one of only two earthquakes recorded in Lake Michigan in the past 100 years, with the last being in August 2024. 

The August 2, 2024, Lake Michigan earthquake was a minor, shallow event felt in parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, with no reported damage. It remains one of the rarest seismic events ever recorded in the Great Lakes region.