Oklahoma Gets Hit With 20 Earthquakes In One Day

Oklahoma's Geology Survey recorded an unprecedented 20 small earthquakes across the state on Tuesday, highlighting the dramatic increase of seismic activity that has occurred there as the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing - otherwise known as fracking - has spread across the state.

Though 18 out of the 20 earthquakes that occurred Tuesday were below Magnitude 3, rendering them mostly imperceptible, the largest one registered as a 4.3 near Guthrie, a city of more than 10,000 residents. And while U.S. Geological Survey scientists have said that Oklahoma is historically known as "earthquake country," they also warn that quakes have been steadily on the rise; from 1978 until 2008, the average rate of earthquakes registering a magnitude of 3.0 or more was only two per year.
"No documented cases of induced seismicity have ever come close to the current earthquake rates or the area over which the earthquakes are occurring," the Oklahoma Geology Survey said in a recent presentation addressing the alarming increase in quakes. By "induced seismicity," the OGS is referring to minor earthquakes that are caused by human activity, whether that be fracking, mass removal mining, reservoir impoundment, or geothermal production - anything that could disrupt existing fault lines.

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