California: 130 earthquakes have hit Death Valley since Oct 9. Is the Big One coming?
Death Valley California
California's Death Valley has been rattled by nearly 130 earthquakes since October 9, triggering fears that the "Big One" might soon hit the region. According to USGS geophysicist Elizabeth Cochran, the largest ones to hit the national park were reported on October 25. Their magnitudes were 4.7 and 4.5.
While the tremors have not been massive, they have still been felt nearly 150 miles away in Las Vegas, local media reports suggest. The fault system on which the park sits witnesses intense seismic activity and is capable of producing tremors of magnitude up to seven.
Experts say that the swarm of quakes in the region is not unusual. However, their sheer number hasraised concerns that a bigger, more powerful quake might soon occur.
The Las Vegas Valley is at significant risk of being impacted by this level of shaking, and so Christie Rowe, Director of the Nevada Seismological Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, told KTNV Las Vegas that they are carefully monitoring these swarms.
As per reports, the most intense activity occurred on October 25 when a magnitude 4.2 quake hit east of Stovepipe Wells at around 12:00 pm. At 1 am, a magnitude 4.7 quake was recorded in the same region, the largest one recorded so far.
Also Read:Traumatic incidents like earthquakes can alter a woman’s menstrual cycle: Study
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
Rowe said these earthquakes "increase our alert levels because sometimes a larger earthquake follows." She says earthquake clusters are common in Nevada. As one cluster dies down, another one is on its way, and this pattern continues along the California-Nevada border or on central Nevada.
Death Valley and the Big One
Death Valley has witnessed a few big quakes in the past. In 2019, a magnitude 7.1 hit a region 30 miles away from this current swarm. Its impact was so huge that it left a deep crack in the ground near Ridgecrest, California. Tourist gather at the site to catch a glimpse of the crevice.
This was the largest quake to hit the region in 20 years. It was preceded by a magnitude 6.4 foreshock, and followed by 28 quakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater within a span of five days.
Death Valley sits on three main fault lines - Northern Death Valley Fault Zone (NDVFZ), the Black Mountains Fault Zone (BMFZ), and the Southern Death Valley Fault Zone (SDVFZ).
Californians have often heard about a hypothetical high-magnitude earthquake known as The Big One. Experts say that it could strike at any time along the San Andreas fault.
