DALLAS — Texas isn't known as an earthquake state -- like California, for example.
But that doesn't mean we're complete strangers to the ground rumbling beneath us, especially in the last several years.
Just this week, 4.9-magnitude and 5.1-magnitude earthquakes happened in the same area of West Texas near Hermleigh, and both were strong enough to reportedly be felt three hours to the east, in Dallas-Fort Worth.
In 2022, there were around 2,600 earthquakes of 2.0-magnitude or greater in Texas -- more than double the number from 2020. Last year was a virtual repeat, with the state registering just shy of 2,500 earthquakes of 2.0 or more.
What made this week's Hermleigh earthquakes notable was their magnitude. In fact, both managed to crack the top 10 largest earthquakes in Texas history, according to the website Earthquake Track, which pulls data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Here's the full list:
- Aug. 16, 1931, Fort Davis - 6.5 magnitude
- April 14, 1995, Alpine - 5.7 magnitude
- Nov. 16, 2022, Mentone - 5.4 magnitude
- Dec. 16, 2022, Midland - 5.4 magnitude
- Nov. 8, 2023, Mentone - 5.2 magnitude
- July 26, 2024, Hermleigh - 5.1 magnitude
- March 26, 2020, Mentone - 5.0 magnitude
- July 22, 2024, Hermleigh - 4.9 magnitude
- Oct. 20, 2011, Karnes City - 4.8 magnitude
- May 17, 2012, Timpson - 4.8 magnitude
The Hermleigh-area earthquakes were also part of a recent cluster of quakes reported by officials. Most of Texas' recent earthquakes have been in West Texas, from the Hermleigh area all the way across the Permian Basin and into New Mexico.
While it's difficult to pinpoint a specific cause for any particular earthquake, researchers have attributed the overall rise in earthquakes to fracking activity in Texas. Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a form of oil drilling that injects fluids into shale and rock to free up oil reserves. The process produces a ton of wastewater, too, and that's disposed by being injected deep into the earth's surface. This step, researchers have found, causes seismic pressure that can lead to earthquakes.