2.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits East El Paso
A 2.5 magnitude earthquake struck East El Paso on Monday night, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
There were no reported injuries.
The earthquake occurred at 8:11 p.m. and was just over three miles deep. Stronger earthquakes happened in San Francisco (4.0 magnitude) and Argentina (6.1 magnitude) on Monday.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in the Borderland.
In late April and early May of last year, there were earthquakes about 85 miles southeast of El Paso. Some of the swarm of quakes measured over 4.0 last year.
Local seismologist and UTEP geology professor Diane Doser said last year that this area has earthquakes that are felt about every 10 years.
“We’ve had kind of a long spell without feeling an earthquake so it’s I guess overdue that we would feel one here,” Doser said last year.
A common misconception is that El Paso lies on a fault line like those that occur in California or Japan. Instead, the city lies in an area called the Rio Grand rift. A rift, which is not a fault line, is an area where earth’s crust is slowly being pulled apart.
The last time the area saw a swarm of earthquakes like last spring’s was back in the 1960s when multiple quakes with similar magnitudes struck the area. The strongest in that group measured 5.3.
“The earthquakes went on for about four months,” Doser said about the 1960s quakes.
Related Links:Link: Recent Earthquakes In The WorldLink: Recent Earthquakes In U.S.Link: History Of Earthquakes In El Paso Area
