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NV Earthquake Swarm Result Of Stretching Crust

A swarm of earthquakes in the remote desert where Oregon, California and Nevada come together can be traced to the constant stretching of the earth's crust.  Glenn Biasi at the University of Nevada Seismological Laboratory in Reno said Tuesday the Sierra Nevada is moving northwest about a half inch a year.

That creates gaps in Nevada's northwestern corner, where one fault has produced hundreds of small quakes.  Since July, the swarm has generated more than 800 tremors that registered on seismographs, but were rarely felt by people. The biggest were two last week of magnitude 4.7.
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Jay Bartos joined Nevada Public Radio in 1993 to develop and manage the state’s first radio reading service for people unable to use standard printed material due to blindness or another disability. After the reading service was discontinued in 2011, he became the afternoon host on KNPR for ten years. Jay can now be heard on air on News 88.9 KNPR and Classical 89.7 KCNV throughout the week.