Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Swarm of [Nevada] Quakes have Experts Concerned
mynews4.com ^ | Friday April 15, 2011 10:09am PDT | Brooke Boone

Posted on 04/15/2011 5:33:35 PM PDT by BenLurkin

Nevada Seismologists are keeping a close eye on an area southwest of Hawthorne, Nevada where hundreds of earthquakes have been detected since Sunday. " It's a little bit concerning in a sense.. The largest earthquakes in these sequences are pretty large in size." Graham Kent is Director of Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno. He says there have been hundreds of earthquakes southwest of Hawthorne over the past few days. The largest-- recorded at a 4.4 in size.

"These are the biggest in a sequence we've seen at least in the last couple of years." Kent says unlike the 2008 quakes in Somersett that damaged so many homes, these earthquakes are fortunately not underneath a community.

Size is not the only reason Kent says they are watching the swarm of quakes closely. The location of these quakes is on top of a fault that has until now remained unknown or has not been active. Kent then made an eerie comparison, "Whats really interesting about most of these earthquakes we've experienced. Short of the Chilean and Japanese; Haiti, Baha, even Christchurch.. Were on unknown faults.

But Kent says just because those devastating quakes happened on un-named faults does not mean that the series of quakes near Hawthorne will lead to a big quake there. Reno, Carson City and the Las Vegas valley all lie on top of fault lines. And right now, there is no way to predict where the next big quake will occur.

(Excerpt) Read more at mynews4.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; earthquakes; earthquakeswarm; swarm
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last

1 posted on 04/15/2011 5:33:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/FaultMaps/119-38.html


2 posted on 04/15/2011 5:34:30 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
Las Vegas lies on a fault line?

I thought Las Vegas was a no fault zone.

3 posted on 04/15/2011 5:36:56 PM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

I have felt a couple of these larger quakes centered near the ghost town of Aurora on the Nevada/California border.


4 posted on 04/15/2011 5:43:11 PM PDT by Inyo-Mono (My greatest fear is that when I'm gone my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CharacterCounts

My old stompin’ grounds...felt my first temblor there in Hawthorne, like a wave. Didn’t care for it much, but preferred it to the tornados and T-storms in Texas.


5 posted on 04/15/2011 5:45:17 PM PDT by Churchjack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Magma could be pushing up from deep below.


6 posted on 04/15/2011 5:45:51 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

It’s Bush’s fault.


7 posted on 04/15/2011 5:56:12 PM PDT by FroggyTheGremlim (2012 - End of an error)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CharacterCounts

http://crack.seismo.unr.edu/ftp/web/ep/nvsurvival/


8 posted on 04/15/2011 5:57:49 PM PDT by ken21 (dem taxes + regs + unions = jobs overseas.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ken21

When I said no fault zone, I wasn’t thinking of earthquakes.


9 posted on 04/15/2011 5:59:34 PM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Churchjack

It appears my attempt at humor went flat. Guess I won’t quit my day job.


10 posted on 04/15/2011 6:00:59 PM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: CharacterCounts

use

/s

after your comment.


11 posted on 04/15/2011 6:01:17 PM PDT by ken21 (dem taxes + regs + unions = jobs overseas.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: CharacterCounts

I got it.


12 posted on 04/15/2011 6:04:37 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: eCSMaster

Nope, Harry Reid’s!


13 posted on 04/15/2011 6:08:41 PM PDT by razorback-bert (Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
Basin and range territory. Its not far from the Aurora Crater. There are several known faults nearby (including the rattlesnake flats fault) but these are not located directly on any known fault. There is a basin area to the north. If you look at it on google there are some open pit mines in the area. (Borax? rare earths? sand and gravel?)

Look forward to the explanation. Does this have something to do with the mining? Beginnings of a magma intrusion and new volcano? Something more Sci Fi....perhaps worms seeking spice in the basin, or the mining has disturbed the old ones who are arising from their long slumber....

14 posted on 04/15/2011 6:09:54 PM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Normally I pipe in on these with the nothing to see here.

This time around there is an unusual component to this in that the line of apparent aftershocks is trending NE-SW which is 90 degrees to the regional trend of NNW-SSE. I initially though this could represent the development of a strike-slip system, however, all the moment tensors indicate normal faulting.

This will keep the seismologists at the UNR and USGS scratching their heads for a while.


15 posted on 04/15/2011 6:12:42 PM PDT by Godzilla (3-7-77)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pete from Shawnee Mission
Beginnings of a magma intrusion and new volcano?

These are shallow quakes, volcanic activity would have deeper activity along with distinguishable harmonics.

16 posted on 04/15/2011 6:14:30 PM PDT by Godzilla (3-7-77)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]


17 posted on 04/15/2011 6:16:51 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

It’s just Harry’s friends coming to visit from hell.


18 posted on 04/15/2011 6:16:54 PM PDT by Soothesayer (smallpox is not a person)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Is this anywhere near Perfection, Nevada?


19 posted on 04/15/2011 6:21:31 PM PDT by Grut
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Hawthorne has a VERY large weapons depot.


20 posted on 04/15/2011 6:26:22 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-78 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson