Tag Archives: Colorado Earthquake

Natural Disasters

Major earthquake in Colorado unlikely but not impossible

Leave a comment
US Geological Survey earthquake hazard map for the United States. (USGS)
US Geological Survey earthquake hazard map for the United States. Click for a larger view. (USGS)

Following yesterday’s magnitude 6.0 earthquake in Napa Valley, California and recent, far milder temblors near Greeley, Colorado residents have to wonder if a major earthquake is possible in the Centennial State.

Longtime Denver residents well know that earthquakes here are not unheard of.

From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, small quakes in the Denver area were relatively common.  The majority of those have been attributed to the injection of liquid waste into the Earth out at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

Similar manmade processes are believed to be the source of recent earthquake activity in Oklahoma and possibly the earthquakes seen in May and June of this year near Greeley.

Southern Colorado near Trinidad routinely sees small earthquakes.  Some of the activity there may be related to mining.  However the area is also home to the Northern Sangre de Christo Fault and the Southern Sawatch Fault, both of which have been sources of activity in the past.

Looking farther back, it was on November 7, 1882 that the largest known quake in the state’s history occurred.  A temblor estimated at magnitude 6.6 struck near Rocky Mountain National Park.  Contemporary news accounts of the day indicate damage was seen in Boulder and the quake was felt as far away as Salina, Kansas and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The latest hazard outlook from the US Geological Survey (USGS) does show a moderate hazard potential for parts of Colorado, particularly the Western Slope.

Related links:

Examiner.com

Magnitude 3.3 earthquake rattles Colorado’s Eagle County near Glenwood Springs

2 Comments

Colorado’s central mountains experienced an earthquake Tuesday afternoon that rattled towns in the area.  According to the US Geological Survey (USGS) the magnitude 3.3 temblor occurred at 3:21pm MDT. The epicenter was in Eagle County 10 miles north of Basalt or 16 miles east of Glenwood Springs. It occurred at a shallow depth of 3.1 miles.  Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com including details on Colorado’s ‘shaky’ past.

Natural Disasters

A whole lotta shakin’ going on: Earthquakes rattle southern Colorado

Leave a comment
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake was the largest of 11 temblors to hit southern Colorado in the past 24 hours. (USGS)
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake was the largest of 11 temblors to hit southern Colorado in the past 24 hours. (USGS) Click the image for more maps of the recent quakes on Examiner.com.

Nearly a dozen earthquakes have hit southern Colorado in the past 24 hours including a strong magnitude 5.3 temblor, the largest in the state since 1973.  The quakes are occurring nearly 10 years ago to the date that a similar earthquake swarm struck the same area near Trinidad.

Yesterday morning a minor magnitude 2.9 quake struck but that was merely a warm up for what was to follow.  A magnitude 4.6 quake then struck in the evening followed by the magnitude 5.3 quake just before midnight.

The USGS reports that the most powerful quake was felt as far away as the Denver metro area.  Some homes and highways were damaged in the area of the quake.

For the complete story on the quake, be sure to read the story on Examiner.com: Earthquake swarm strikes Colorado; Strong magnitude 5.3 biggest of 11 temblors

You can also monitor earthquake activity in Colorado on our earthquake page here.