The 2011 Colorado earthquake occurred on August 22 at with a
moment magnitude
The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
of 5.3 and a maximum
Mercalli intensity
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
of VII (''Very Strong''). The
epicenter
The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Surface damage
Before the instrumental pe ...
of the
intraplate earthquake
The term intraplate earthquake refers to a variety of earthquake that occurs ''within the interior'' of a tectonic plate; this stands in contrast to an interplate earthquake, which occurs ''at the boundary'' of a tectonic plate. Intraplate earth ...
was west northwest of
Trinidad, Colorado
Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...
, and south of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, according to the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
(USGS).
It was the largest natural earthquake to affect Colorado for more than a hundred years.
[
The earthquake occurred as part of a ]swarm
Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...
of smaller quakes that started the previous day. The last time the Colorado region received a series of earthquakes was in 2001, when about a dozen smaller-sized temblors were recorded. The shock occurred as a result of normal faulting and was similar in depth, style and location to the events that made up the 2001 swarm.
See also
*List of earthquakes in 2011
This is a list of earthquakes in 2011. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time. The 9.1 Tōhoku ear ...
*List of earthquakes in the United States
The following is a list of notable earthquakes and tsunamis which had their epicenter in areas that are now part of the United States with the latter affecting areas of the United States. Those in ''italics'' were not part of the United States whe ...
*2011 Virginia earthquake
On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was northwest of Richmond and south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an ...
- Second M 5.0+ earthquake to hit the United States in less than a day, occurring almost 12 hours later.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Wastewater injection is culprit for most earthquakes in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, study finds
– ''Science Daily
''Science Daily'' is an American website launched in 1995 that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases (a practice called churnalism) about science, similar to Phys.org and EurekAlert!.
The site was founded by mar ...
''
Was the M5.3 Trinidad, CO Earthquake Natural or Induced?
– United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
{{Earthquakes in the United States
2011 earthquakes
Earthquakes in Colorado
2011 in Colorado
Las Animas County, Colorado
August 2011 events in the United States