Magnitude 6.0 earthquake — South Sandwich Islands region

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake has struck the South Sandwich Islands region in the remote South Atlantic, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake hit at around half past eleven this morning, UK time, at a depth of 10 kilometres beneath the seabed. That's quite shallow for an earthquake, which can make the shaking feel stronger at the surface — though in this case, there's precious little surface to speak of.

A very long way from anywhere

The South Sandwich Islands are one of the loneliest spots on Earth, a chain of volcanic islands roughly 2,000 miles east of the tip of South America and well over 1,000 miles southeast of the Falklands. They're British territory, but nobody actually lives there — just seabirds, seals, and the occasional research team braving the cold.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake is considered strong. If it happened under a town, you'd feel violent shaking, pictures would fall off walls, and poorly built structures might suffer damage. Out here, though, the main concern is whether it might trigger a tsunami, though no warnings have been issued at the time of writing.

The region sits along the South Sandwich Trench, where one chunk of the Earth's crust is diving beneath another — a geological setup that makes earthquakes fairly routine, if not exactly frequent. Still, a magnitude 6.0 is nothing to sniff at, even in a place accustomed to the occasional rumble.

No reports of damage

Given that the islands are uninhabited and far from any major shipping lanes, there are no reports of damage or anyone being affected. The nearest permanently inhabited land is South Georgia, itself a remote outpost, some distance to the northwest.

The quake was detected and measured by the USGS monitoring network, which keeps an eye on seismic activity around the globe, even in places where nobody's around to feel it.

Have you ever felt an earthquake, perhaps while travelling somewhere more geologically lively? Or do you know anyone stationed in one of these far-flung corners of the world? Do share your stories below.