A small earthquake occurred in northeast Alabama late Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed.

The quake happened at 11:35 p.m. Friday. Its epicenter was about two and a half miles below the surface, less than half a mile north-northeast of the town of Section in Jackson County and about 6.7 miles south-southeast of Scottsboro.

The USGS gave it a preliminary magnitude of 2.3; most quakes below 2.5 are not felt by people.

No damage was reported.