Quakes in Nevada worry experts

[Guest guest]

http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=41029 & n=122

Quote:

Swarm of Quakes have Experts Concerned

Page Last Updated: Friday April 15, 2011 10:09am PDTNevada 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.

[Guest guest]

This area was at one time highly volcanic. Looking on the maps where the quakes are happening you can find Mono Lake in the area. According to what I have read it was a volcano at one time. Yosemite National Park and some of the others in the region also contain ancient volcanoes. That's not saying this is a prelude to an eruption of course. On the right maps you can see all the faults in the region. This region is also part of the major fault where the Pacific and North American plates meet. The fault region is up to 200 miles wide according to some estimates, meaning the stress is spread out over that wide of an area.

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..

[Guest guest]

There is more to the article than you posted. One paragraph says that these

quakes are happening on an unknown fault.

The thing to remember about the entire west coast, and also some of the western

interior states, is that if you blew away topsoil, sand, and tens of thousands

of years of sediment, you'd see something that looked like an uneven accordian.

Imagine dropping a piece of glass in the shape of the western states and then

reassembling the pieces in the general shape of those states. All the faults

would be fully evident. Cover that with a layer of dust that fills in the cracks

and it would look like a single piece of glass again.

Now if you've got something under that glass, like a board, and you tilt that

board, or shake it, those pieces pull apart and/or grind together and/or

scatter. That may be happening now that activity has picked up on and around the

Pacific plate.

Administrator

http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=41029 & n=122

Quote:

Swarm of Quakes have Experts Concerned

Page Last Updated: Friday April 15, 2011 10:09am PDT

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.

[Guest guest]

There is more to the article than you posted. One paragraph says that these

quakes are happening on an unknown fault.

The thing to remember about the entire west coast, and also some of the western

interior states, is that if you blew away topsoil, sand, and tens of thousands

of years of sediment, you'd see something that looked like an uneven accordian.

Imagine dropping a piece of glass in the shape of the western states and then

reassembling the pieces in the general shape of those states. All the faults

would be fully evident. Cover that with a layer of dust that fills in the cracks

and it would look like a single piece of glass again.

Now if you've got something under that glass, like a board, and you tilt that

board, or shake it, those pieces pull apart and/or grind together and/or

scatter. That may be happening now that activity has picked up on and around the

Pacific plate.

Administrator

http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=41029 & n=122

Quote:

Swarm of Quakes have Experts Concerned

Page Last Updated: Friday April 15, 2011 10:09am PDT

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.