Earthquake in Northern Illinois

What am i talking about? Am i crazy?! No, actually, there was an earthquake in nothern Illinois. Recently, a magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck northern Illinios. The epicenter was located approximately 18 north east of Elburn illinois in Pingree Grove. The earthquake struck at 3:49:34 a.m. The shock waves of the earthquake could be felt as far away as Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and parts of southern illinois. The theorized reasoning behind this occurance is the glaciers. 10,000 years ago, glaciers covered much of north america and much of the world for that matter. The weight of the glacial mass compressed the earth below forming a slight depression in the surface of the earth. When the glaciers receded, the weight was lifted allowing the crust to rebound. Crust deformation, such as the case of this one, is not a quick process. It takes several thousand years to deform, and several thousand more to reform to its original shape. The reforming is stressin the bedrock causing it to fracture, thus generating an earthquake. Unfortuinately no one can predict when or where an earthquake will occure, nor can they determine how powerful it will be. All that scientists can do is look at the tectonic plates that make up the earths crust, and pick out earthquake hot spots. These hot spots are usually along plate boundries, but can also be located far from any such boundry. One such place is the New Madrid fault in the east central united states. This is an area that is showing an increase in tectonic activity. The hypothesis as to why this is occuring is being formulated still, however, scientists agree that it is most likely caused by the Atlantic and Pacific places compresing the United States and reopening an ancient plate boundry that has since sealed itself shut.