West News Small Quakes Shake Old Faithful Area
A series of small earthquakes shook the Old Faithful area but caused no damage.
The quakes occurred just before midnight Monday.
"It woke up a lot of people," said Henry Heasler, Yellowstone's lead geologist.
In all, seven earthquakes were recorded over a 10-minute period. The epicenter was southwest of Lone Star geyser, which is about four miles southeast of Old Faithful.
The first and largest quake measured at a magnitude of 2.8 and started at 11:52 p.m. A minute later, a magnitude 2.3 earthquake hit and, four minutes later, there was a magnitude 2.5 earthquake. Several other smaller ones also were recorded.
An interpretive ranger at Old Faithful heard the quakes and felt the shaking, Heasler said.
On Oct. 14, a swarm of more than 70 small earthquakes hit the Old Faithful area over several hours. The largest was a magnitude 2.4.
Heasler said earthquake swarms are not unusual for Yellowstone's active geologic life.
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