Important Takeaways:
- Scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have discovered a newly opened volcanic vent in Norris Geyser Basin.
- The vent is at the foot of a rhyloite lava flow, and is spewing hot steam up into the air.
- ‘While driving south from Mammoth Hot Springs towards Norris Geyser Basin early on August 5 last summer, a park scientist noticed a billowing steam column through the trees and across a marshy expanse,’ the USGS explained.
- The new vent was discovered last summer within a region called the Roadside Springs thermal area.
- Lying within a swath of warm, hydrothermally altered ground, approximately 200ft (60 meters) long, the new feature is about 9.8ft (three meters) below the marsh surface.
- Shortly after it was identified, park geologists visited the vent to get a closer look.
- There, they discovered a very thin veneer of grey silicious clay barely covering the ground, and temperatures of 77°C (171°F).
- According to the team, this indicates the new vent is ‘very young’ in nature.
- This isn’t the first time that this type of hydrothermal activity has been spotted in the area.
- Back in 2003, a similar vent was spotted just on the other side of the same rhyolite lava flow.
- ‘Are the new feature and the activity that started in 2003 hydrologically connected?’ USGS asked.
- ‘Probably.
- ‘One could run a line along the axis of the older active area and it would intersect the new feature.
- ‘This line also follows the trend of faults that run from Norris Geyser Basin northward to Mammoth Hot Springs and beyond.’
- So far, geologists have mapped more than 100 major hydrothermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, as well as more than 10,000 within its boundaries.
- Thankfully, USGS reassures that there is still about 100,000 years to go before the supervolcano is likely to erupt.
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Important Takeaways:
- The United States Geological Survey says the state experienced a 2.7 magnitude quake at 8:03 am ET Thursday in the city of Hayward.
- Two more earthquakes struck less than six hours earlier roughly 250 miles north, off the coast of Petrolia, California.
- USGS says the first tremor struck at 2:06 am ET and measured 3.3 on the Richter scale.
- It was quickly followed by a second 3.4 magnitude quake less than three hours later at 4:51 am ET.
- The two earlier earthquakes were centered roughly 20 miles apart from each other off the California coast.
- While the two quakes near Petrolia struck a relatively quiet part of northern California, the third quake in Hayward hit an area of the state right in between major cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude 3.7 earthquake near Mammoth, Wyoming, at about 6 p.m. MST, close to the Norris Geyser Basin. Seismologists said a few people in the Yellowstone region reported the shaking.
- “The earthquake is typical of the Yellowstone region and not a sign of any significant unrest,” the agency said following the quake.
- The National Park Service (NPS) said Norris Geyser Basin is home to some truly extreme geothermal features.
- The highest temperature ever recorded in Yellowstone (459 degrees) was measured in a drill hole at Norris, just 1,087 feet below the surface, underscoring the intense heat and activity in the area, the NPS added. There are very few thermal features at Norris under the boiling point at 199 degrees at this elevation.
- Norris shows evidence of having had thermal features for at least 115,000 years, according to the NPS. The features in the basin change daily, with frequent disturbances from seismic activity and water fluctuations.
- While Yellowstone is frequently rattled by small earthquakes — averaging 1,500 to 2,500 per year — the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory notes that larger, damaging earthquakes have also struck the area.
- The park’s largest recorded earthquake, a magnitude 6, occurred on June 30, 1975, along the north-central boundary of Yellowstone Caldera, a few miles southeast of Norris Geyser Basin. No injuries were reported, and all park campgrounds and facilities remained open.
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Important Takeaways:
- The U.S. Geological Survey rated the shaking as a magnitude 3.9, downgraded from the initial magnitude of 4.1. It was centered off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine in York Harbor, about 12 miles underground.
- While not destructive, and fairly common in areas with more seismic activity like California, that’s relatively large for the area.
- Shaking was felt across the region — as far away as New Haven, Connecticut, and Albany, New York, according to responses sent to U.S. Geological Survey.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rattled a region of southwest Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
- The tremor was about five miles from Coalcoman de Vazquez Pallares, a municipality of around 20,000 people about 372 miles west of the capital Mexico City. The quake struck at a depth of 53 miles.
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on social media platform X that the national emergency services had reported “there are no new developments and are initiating review protocols” in Coalcoman.
- Mexico lies on five tectonic plates that make it one of the world’s most earthquake-vulnerable countries, particularly on the Pacific coast.
- In 1985, an 8.1 magnitude quake centered on the Pacific coast ravaged much of central and southern Mexico, killing thousands and causing severe damage in Mexico City.
- A 7.1-magnitude quake on September 19, 2017, killed 369 people, most of them in the capital.
- On the same day in 2022, central Mexico was hit by another quake, just hours after millions of people had taken part in a mock earthquake safety exercise.
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Important Takeaways:
- A surge of earthquakes is rippling through California and reaching as far as Las Vegas.
- Since Oct. 9, Death Valley National Park has seen 130 earthquakes. Elizabeth Cochran, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, confirmed the number to SFGATE in an email. The park saw the largest earthquakes on Oct. 25, reaching magnitudes 4.7 and 4.5.
- “The cluster is considered a swarm of earthquakes because the sequence contains a large number of events but does not have a clear mainshock (an earthquake clearly larger than the rest in the sequence),” Cochran said.
- The recent shakes haven’t caused damage within the park. Death Valley has multiple fault lines — Cochran said namely the Towne Pass Fault and Northern Death Valley Fault — that cover a large area in eastern California and Nevada. The fault lines are capable of producing earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 or larger.
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Important Takeaways:
- A serious earthquake struck the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday evening, striking fears of a possible tsunami.
- A 6.0 earthquake hit Oregon on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake reportedly hit off the southern coast of the U.S. state, according to reports. While the earthquake struck in a region that could produce a tsunami, thankfully, none is expected.
- Still, it’s a worrying situation
- The AP had more:
- Washington state emergency management officials posted on social media that while it can be scary to see a 6.0 magnitude quake happening near the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the one Wednesday was in the Blanco Fracture Zone, where quakes are quite common.
- The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a 600-mile-long (965-kilometer) fault just off the coast that runs from Northern California to British Columbia. Tectonic stresses have been accumulating in the zone for more than 300 years, and seismologists say it could rupture at any time, causing a megaquake and tsunami.
- Our thoughts are with everyone in the area during the scary time. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like there was any serious damage reported.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the southern tip of British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii around 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon.
- The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the M6.5 quake was centered about 265 km south of Prince Rupert, B.C., and it occurred at a depth of 33 km beneath the surface.
- The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no threat of a tsunami from this earthquake.
- Due to the earthquake’s offshore epicenter and steep depth, there were few reports of shaking felt on land.
- This region is highly susceptible to seismic activity due to the faulting in the region. The largest earthquake in recent memory to strike near Sunday’s temblor was a magnitude 7.8 that occurred on October 27, 2012.
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Important Takeaways:
- An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale struck in the early hours of Monday morning, according to the US Geophysical Institute (USGS) and the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
- The shocks were most intense in the Sines, Lisbon and Setúbal areas, with reports on social media of the earthquake being felt as far as Porto, and even Spain and Morocco.
- The Portuguese Sea and Atmosphere Institute (IPMA) has since revised the earthquake’s magnitude to 5.3 on the Richter scale.
- The earthquake was recorded at 5:11 am local time (6:11 am CET), with its epicenter 58 kilometers west of Sines, on the high seas, and at a depth of 21 kilometers, according to the IPMA.
- In a statement issued Monday morning, the Portuguese government said it was “in close coordination with all the relevant services” following the earthquake.
- It reassured that there was no record of personal or material damage and appealed to the population to remain calm and follow the recommendations of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.
- The quake wasn’t big enough to create a tsunami on the US East Coast or Europe.
- The earthquake was also felt in parts of Morocco, including the Casablanca area.
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Important Takeaways:
- A magnitude 5.2 earthquake near Bakersfield on Tuesday night rattled much of Southern California, including parts of the Los Angeles metro, and was followed by dozens of aftershocks.
- According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the initial 5.2-magnitude quake struck at 9:09 p.m. PT, some 14 miles southwest of Lamont, California, in Kern County, at a depth of about 7.3 miles. Some residents of the Los Angeles area reported the shaking nearly 90 miles away.
- The USGS recorded more than 50 aftershocks in the hours following Tuesday night’s earthquake, ranging in magnitude from 2.5 to 4.5.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced late Tuesday night that no injuries or damage were reported on the city level, according to FOX 11.
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