Erosion carries sediments out of the mountains and down towards the Atlantic Ocean (on the east side) and the Gulf of Mexico (on the west). This movement of sediment can alleviate the pressure of overlying rocks and cause ancient faults (once active during the mountain building processes) to reactivate and create earthquakes. It is believed this is a factor in the 2020 Sparta earthquake as well as others in the region such as the 2011 Virginia earthquake.