Three Sawtooth Range, Idaho earthquakes (2:15 & 2:23 AM, 10 July 2020)

James St. John
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Three Sawtooth Range, Idaho earthquakes (2:15 & 2:23 AM, 10 July 2020)
Three Sawtooth Range, Idaho earthquakes (2:15 & 2:23 AM, 10 July 2020)

This is a seismogram for the Maple Creek seismic station in Yellowstone, Wyoming. The noise on the 02:00 line (click on the image once or twice to zoom in) was caused by shock waves from three separate earthquakes in rapid succession. The quakes occurred in the Sawtooth Range of Idaho in the early morning of 10 July 2020.

The noise with numerous vertical red lines represents two 4.0 magnitude earthquakes that hit 19 seconds apart (2:15 AM local time in Idaho & Yellowstone). The noise to the right of that is a third earthquake of magnitude 3.0 that hit at 2:23 AM, local time. Shock waves from each event took less than one minute to arrive at Yellowstone. The 2:23 AM quake's signal here appears to represent P, PP, S, and SS waves, from left to right.

These represent ongoing aftershock activity from a powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit the area on 31 March 2020.

See info. at:
1) earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000al8q/exec...
2) earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000al8x/exec...
3) earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000al8t/exec...
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An earthquake is a natural shaking or vibrating of the Earth caused by sudden fault movement and a rapid release of energy. Earthquake activity is called "seismicity". The study of earthquakes is called "seismology". The actual underground location of an earthquake is the hypocenter, or focus. The site at the Earth's surface, directly above the hypocenter, is the epicenter. Minor earthquakes may occur before a major event - such small quakes are called foreshocks. Minor to major quakes after a major event are aftershocks.

Most earthquakes occur at or near tectonic plate boundaries, such as subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges, collision zones, and transform plate boundaries. They also occur at hotspots - large subsurface mantle plumes (Examples: Hawaii, Yellowstone, Iceland, Afar).

Earthquakes generate four types of shock waves: P-waves, S-waves, Love waves, and Rayleigh waves. P-waves and S-waves are body waves - they travel through solid rocks. Love waves and Rayleigh waves travel only at the surface - they are surface waves. P-waves are push-pull waves that travel quickly and cause little damage. S-waves are up-and-down waves (like flicking a rope) that travel slowly and cause significant damage. Love waves are side-to-side surface waves, like a slithering snake. Rayleigh waves are rotational surface waves, somewhat like ripples from tossing a pebble into a pond.

Earthquakes are associated with many specific hazards, such as ground shaking, ground rupturing, subsidence (sinking), uplift (rising), tsunamis, landslides, fires, and liquefaction.

Some famous major earthquakes in history include: Shensi, China in 1556; Lisbon, Portugal in 1755; New Madrid, Missouri in 1811-1812; San Francisco, California in 1906; Anchorage, Alaska in 1964; and Loma Prieta, California in 1989.

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Taken on: July 10, 2020
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