By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 14:10 BST, 14 May 2025 | Updated: 15:35 BST, 14 May 2025

Nevada was rocked by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday in a region where the Earth’s crust is slowly tearing apart.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected the tremor at 5:35 am local (8:35am ET) near Valmy that sits on top of the Basin and Range Province, which stretches across much of the western US. 

In this area, the Earth’s crust is gradually being pulled apart, causing faulting and frequent earthquakes.

The USGS’s aftershock forecast shows a 31 percent chance of a 3.0 magnitude or higher tremor hitting in the next week and a small six percent chance of another 4.0 magnitude or more. 

Nevada is the nation’s third-most seismically active state, ranking after California and Alaska.

Valmy sits within a region of active fault lines, including the Fairview Peak-Dixie Valley Fault Scarps and the Central Nevada Seismic Belt.

The small town is also along the Pleasant Valley fault that is capable of producing a quake up to a 7.7 magnitude. 

Nevada was rocked by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday in a region where the Earth's crust is slowly tearing apart

Nevada was rocked by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday in a region where the Earth’s crust is slowly tearing apart 

An assessment from Michigan Tech University showed that people typically do not feel quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or less.

Those from 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt but only cause minor damage.

While Wednesday’s earthquake was strong enough to shake buildings, Valmy is sparsely populated. The USGS received only two reports of shaking.

The USGS also noted that the 4.0 magnitude was likely the largest event in a sequence of related quakes.

The agency shows a smaller 3.0 magnitude earthquake hit Tuesday. 

Since this area is part of the Basin, it experiences active crustal stretching, fault movements and occasional deep fluid activity.

There is also mining in the region that can trigger quakes.

Valmy is home to the Twin Creeks Mine and Turquoise Ridge Mine, both of which are substantial gold-producing sites operated by major mining companies.

These operations involve extensive excavation, blasting, and material processing, which  can alter the stress distribution in the Earth’s crust, potentially inducing seismic events or earthquake swarms in the surrounding area.

In March, Valmy experienced a swarm of four earthquakes with the largest reaching a 4.0 magnitude.

Nevada’s Area 51 was recently hit by a 2.8 magnitude earthquake in February.

The USGS said the quake struck 32 miles southeast of Beatty that sits about 60 miles from the mysterious military facility.

Area 51 has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to decades of conspiracy theories connecting the base to UFOs,aliens and experimental aircraft testing.

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook northern Nevada on December 9, 2024.

It was the largest quake since May 15, 2020, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Monte Cristo Range.

Nevada experiences thousands of microearthquakes each year, according to Shakeout.

‘Earthquakes in Western Nevada are caused by the extension that is pulling Nevada apart and wrenching created as the Sierra Nevada is pulled to the north because it is caught up in the Pacific-North America plate motion,’ the site explains.

:
Violent earthquake hits US city where the ground is at risk of SPLITTING apart

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