3 earthquakes rattle central Arkansas

By The Associated Press

Two small earthquakes rattled central Arkansas overnight and a third shook the area Thursday afternoon, but they were so minor that local residents felt nothing.

The first quake, which occurred at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday, hit about 6 miles north-northwest of Quitman, in southwest Cleburne County, or about 50 miles north of Little Rock, and it registered a magnitude of 2.8, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The second, also magnitude 2.8, struck at 1:55 a.m. Thursday and its epicenter was about 2 miles west of Greenbrier in Faulkner County, or 35 miles north of Little Rock, the USGS said. That was only 18 miles southwest of the first temblor.

The epicenter of the third quake, which hit at 1:53 p.m. Thursday, was about a mile from the second quake, the USGS said. It registered a magnitude of 2.7, the agency said.

Haydar Al-Shukri, director of the Arkansas Earthquake Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said it was common to see earthquakes of that magnitude in the region.

“They were most likely due to hydrothermal activity,” Al-Shukri said, referring to movement of hot fluids far beneath the Earth’s surface.

Brian Blackstock, owner of Springhill Nursery and Market at Greenbrier, said he was unaware of the quakes.

“I haven’t felt anything or even heard about anything,” he said. “So they must not have been much.”

Al-Shukri said his students would collect data from seven seismographs near Enola that should provide more details about the temblors.

The seismographs were set up within two miles of an injection well being used to pump waste fluids from gas drilling back into the ground. Al-Shukri said the seismographs were set up as a condition of a permit for the well so that seismic activity arising from the drilling could be monitored.

The well is about 25 miles south of the epicenter of the first quake, and about 12 miles southeast of the second.

Al-Shukri said the temblors were most likely unrelated to the injection well “because they’re way too far from this particular injection well.”

Read 2 comments on this story.

Comments on 3 earthquakes rattle central Arkansas

Click here to make a comment To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Read our Terms of Use policy.

cherokee4 says...

Drilling all those gas wells relieving pressure in the mountians under ground. This is just a small example of what might happen. Just my thought.

October 15, 2009 at 4:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

willyt19 says...

Just life on Earth.

October 15, 2009 at 10:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Registration is required to make comments. Click here to LOGIN.
You can register for FREE to post comments and receive alerts.