Three earthquakes struck near the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada on Thursday. The largest, a 3.3 magnitude quake, hit around 9:52am ET. It occurred just 14 miles northeast of the base and was quickly followed by two smaller tremors. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the sequence of quakes.
Residents in parts of Las Vegas felt the shaking. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The tremors happened along the California Wash Fault. This fault is part of the Basin and Range Province, a region where the Earth’s crust is gradually pulling apart.
Scientists say this fault has the potential to produce a much stronger quake — as high as magnitude 6.5. The last major quake in the area, measuring 6.3, occurred in 1943 near Caliente.
Earthquake Area Near Top-Secret U.S. Sites
Nellis Air Force Base, located 17 miles from Las Vegas, sits close to the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site). This region played a major role in U.S. nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War.
“On January 27, 1951, the first atmospheric nuclear test was detonated at the NTS, code-named ‘Able,’” a historical report stated.
By July 1962, the U.S. had conducted 100 atmospheric tests at the site. When above-ground testing was banned in 1963, testing moved underground. A total of 828 underground tests followed, with the final one, “Divider,” occurring on September 23, 1992.
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The area is also home to Area 51, a classified U.S. military facility built in 1955. It became famous due to secrecy and speculation about alien technology and UFOs.
In 1989, physicist Robert Lazar claimed he had worked at a secret site near Groom Lake called “S-4.” He said the government was studying alien spacecraft. These claims were never confirmed.
A CIA report later declassified in 2013 did admit that high-altitude aircraft testing at Area 51 during the Cold War led to many reports of “unidentified flying objects (UFOs).”
“Once U-2s started flying at altitudes above 60,000 feet, air-traffic controllers began receiving increasing numbers of UFO reports,” the report stated.
Area 51 remains a restricted site. Even regular U.S. military aircraft cannot enter its airspace without authorization. Google Maps shows no official base in the region where the recent earthquakes struck, maintaining the mystery.
For those curious about seismic activity or interested in home preparedness gear like this top-rated emergency survival kit on Amazon, this news is a reminder to always be ready.
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