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UNR Seismologists Setting Up To Track Earthquake Swarm

 A swarm of earthquakes have rumbled through northern Nevada this past week drawing attention from seismologist at the University of Nevada, Reno.

According to UNR, as many as 50 3.0-magnitude earthquakes have hit the northwest corner of the state this week. On Nov. 17 a 4.3 quake was felt, and a few days later, on Nov. 21 a 4.0 quake shook the area.

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There have been thousands of small earthquakes, known as swarm-type sequences, in the state over the last several months. The series is the strongest of these types of quakes ever recorded in Nevada, scientists said.

The current count is at 12 quakes of magnitude 4.0 or more since July. 

Seismologists will be setting up more real-time seismographs this week closer to active faults in hopes of better pinpointing activity. They have attributed the activity to stretching of the earth's crust.

Scientists hope to get a better understanding of swarm quakes.  
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Natalie is an Emmy-award winning journalist who has worked in the Las Vegas market since August 1996, starting as a newscast producer for KLAS-TV Channel 8, and later as an online editor for 8newsnow.com.