5.1 magnitude earthquake rattles West Texas

(KMID/KPEJ)- A 5.1 magnitude earthquake rattled West Texas Monday; the quake’s epicenter was registered about 21.1 miles west southwest of Ackerly, or 27.6 miles north of Midland, according to the United States Geographical Study. The event happened around 7:49 p.m.

When you think of earthquakes, Texas probably isn’t the first state that comes to mind, but data from the U.S.G.S. shows that more than 3,600 earthquakes have been reported in the state since 1900.

The vast majority of those are small quakes, but more than 70 have been magnitude 4 or greater and at least eight of these earthquakes have been magnitude 5 or greater.

What’s the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Texas?

Texas’ strongest earthquake in history struck around 5:40 a.m. on Aug. 16, 1931. The magnitude 5.8 earthquake was centered about 7.5 miles southwest of Valentine, a small community in Presidio County, between El Paso and Big Bend.

Earthquakes have been recorded in almost every part of the state, but there are clusters where they are more common, particularly in West Texas. The region has the most fault zones in the state and is also known for fracking.

According to the USGS, fracking, mining and building dams have all been attributed to induced seismicity, where an earthquake is caused by human activity. In the south-central United States, a significant number of recent earthquakes are thought to be caused by humans.

The number of earthquakes reported in Texas since 1900 has grown exponentially over the past few years. Data from the USGS shows 82% of all earthquakes in Texas with a magnitude 2.5 or greater have occurred just since the start of 2020.

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