Faulting and Fracking: Exploring the History of Earthquakes in West Texas

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West Texas Wonders

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Listener Ken Richards has always noticed the unique fragments and features of the Big Bend. "I assume some of that, a lot of that, moved around by earthquake,” says Richards. “But I'm wondering if it's seismically active now.” West Texas Wonders teamed up with Nature Notes to find the answer. We don't think “Texas” and “earthquakes.” But the answer to Richards' question is yes: tectonic forces that shaped the mountainous Trans-Pecos landscape are still at work. And now there's another factor: hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is leading to small quakes from Monahans to the edges of the Davis and Guadalupe mountains. Scientists say these tectonic and human-made force... Hosted by for KRTS