Earthquake Shakes North Texas Town

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that Irving, Texas, located about 20 miles northwest of Dallas, experienced a 3.3 magnitude earthquake Thursday – the latest in dozens of small quakes that have rattled North Texas in recent months.

Seismologists said that the quakes have been concentrated along a narrow two-mile subsurface fault. Experts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas discovered the fault by placing more than 20 monitors around the quake sites.

Texas is one of a handful of states experiencing a dramatic rise in earthquakes, despite being a region not known for seismic activity. The USGS has blamed the jump on hydraulic fracturing, a process in which drilling companies blast pressurized sand and liquid deep into the earth to extract gas and oil.