KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- The U.S. Geological Survey confirms a small earthquake rocked East Tennessee on Sunday morning.

It happened at 3:09 AM along the border of Roane and Rhea Counties.

The magnitude 1.4 quake was epicentered in a semi-wooded area along Euchee Chapel Road in Spring City, about 10 miles south of Rockwood. Geologists place the quakes exact location in a fault 12.1 miles beneath the epicenter.

Most of the region sits in the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which is considered one of the most active earthquake areas in the Southeast. Small quakes can occur at anytime in the region and more than a dozen have been measured across East Tennessee over the last eight months.

At least three earthquakes occurred over seven days in late December 2008. All three had epicenters located within 75 miles of TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant, leading to some minor speculation that the series of quakes possibly played a role in the December 22nd coal ash spill.