A 3.7 magnitude earthquake shook northwestern Colorado, the
second quake to hit the state in two days.
Following on an earthquake in the southeastern corner of the state on Sunday, a second temblor shook northwestern Colorado on Monday night. Occurring at 8:50pm, the magnitude 3.7 quake was centered 11 miles north of Craig.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (see details below), the quake’s origin was 3.1 miles below the surface. No damage was reported as the quake was felt in nearby Craig and surrounding communities and as far north as Rawlins, Wyoming.
The quake Monday was the second in two days. Sunday evening a quake centered 26 miles north of Lamar measured as a 3.9 magnitude temblor and was felt into western Kansas. Click here for that story.
There are approximately 100 potentially active faults in Colorado and more than 400 temblors of magnitude 2.5 have occurred in the state since 1870. The Sangre de Cristo Fault in the mountain range of the same name and the Sawatch Fault along the Sawatch Range are considered to be the potentially most active.
The state’s largest quake occurred on November 7, 1882 along the northern Front Range and measured 6.5 on the Richter Scale. In writing about that quake, the Longmont Ledger of November 10, 1882, said, "It is claimed by the oldest settlers in Denver that this is the first known instance of an earthquake having visited Colorado."
According to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management, the costliest quake was a 5.3 magnitude temblor that occurred on August 9, 1967 and was centered near Commerce City. The quake caused more than $1 million worth of damage and is thought to have been caused by the injection of liquid waste into the earth at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.
Earthquake Details
| Magnitude | 3.7 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 40.670°N, 107.583°W |
| Depth | 5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program |
| Region | COLORADO |
| Distances |
|
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 4.8 km (3.0 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters | NST= 62, Nph= 62, Dmin=81.7 km, Rmss=1.31 sec, Gp= 29°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | us2009klak |
Related: Colorado earthquake history (USGS)
Comments
"...caused more than $1 million worth of damage and is thought to have been caused by the injection of liquid waste into the earth at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal."
This is one of those fallacious pieces of information that people report on when they don't know enough on the subject matter. Back in the '60's there were many ideas that hazardous waste was the evil be all and end all. While dangerous to human health if released, these contaminants were not released nor did it cause an earthquake. This is tantamount to stating that radiation makes us all green and deformed. Another fallacy that has been perpetuated by Hollywood. While I understand that you were reporting on what was then reported, please understand that to perpetuate these ideas without having facts to back it up causes more public fear than knowledge. Other than that, interesting article.
Melissa, thank you for your comment. There is nothing "Hollywood" about the belief that the injection of waste at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal during the 1960... Read More’s contributed to the many earthquakes experienced in the Denver area during the same time period. In fact, the USGS itself attributes the practice to the quakes and I don’t think it is coincidence that the quakes subsided once the Army began pumping the fluid out. You can read more here:
earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/colorado/history.php
Believe me, I am not one to blame man for every ill the earth may suffer. :-) However, this one is pretty well documented. A very good bibliography on this exact topic can be found here:
www.nyx.net/~dcypser/induceq/rmaref.html
For a quick online reference, check out this document from the Colorado Geological Survey:
geosurvey.state.co.us/portals/0/Rocky%20Mountain%20Arsenal%20Web.pdf
Kinda Weird, an earthquake in colorado, i mean seriously.
it's the first time i herd about something like thi, world's going down.
Having lived through the earthquakes, I absolutely believe that they were caused by activities at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. They started when pumping began, increased in frequency and intensity as the pumping continued, and subsided once it was forced to cease.
While we were assured that it was perfectly safe to pump the waste in to the rocks, I wonder for how long?
The Ogallala Aquifer is being drained. Colorado has many fault lines that could break the containment. The use of fracking could introduce structural weakness.
It seemed like a stupid idea then, and is still stupid now. The idea that you can just dump waste with no consequences is just plain idiotic.
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