BY MICHAEL SNYDER
Why has the western United States suddenly been shaking so violently over the past several weeks? On Tuesday, the constant barrage of headlines about the coronavirus pandemic was interrupted by an enormous earthquake that hit central Idaho.
Of course Idaho is not exactly known for earthquakes, and so this was quite a surprise. In fact, the largest quake in Idaho history was the magnitude 6.9 Borah Peak earthquake in 1983.
So when a magnitude 6.5 earthquake stuck not too far from Boise on Tuesday, it really stunned a whole lot of people. And according to the Spokesman-Review, this quake could be felt as far away as Calgary...
An earthquake hit southern Idaho on Tuesday afternoon, with shakes felt as far as Calgary, Canada, Boise and Spokane.
The United States Geological Survey measured a 6.5-magnitude earthquake at a depth of 10 miles just before 5 p.m. The center of the quake took place about 45 miles west of Challis, Idaho.
This is an event that those living up in the Northwest will remember for a long time to come. There was a tremendous amount of shaking all over the region, and according to at least one report some people actually "ran outside yelling"...
An entry in Volcano Discovery said: "Sustained moderate shaking for several minutes, Rumbling sound heard, people ran outside yelling. Knickknacks fell off shelf.
"Items suspended from ceiling/beams still slightly swaying 10 minutes later."
All the way over in Helena, Montana someone described the shaking like being "on a small ship at sea during a storm", and a restaurant owner in Stanley, Idaho reported that "the water next to me is still vibrating"...
Brett Woolley, a restaurant owner in Stanley, said he heard earthquake coming before he felt it.
"I heard the roar, and at first it sounded like the wind but then the roar was tremendous," Woolley said about 10 minutes after the earthquake. "The whole house was rattling, and I started to panic. I'm sitting here perfectly still and the water next to me is still vibrating."
The epicenter of this earthquake was approximately 78 miles from Boise and approximately 330 miles from Yellowstone.
And of course this quake comes less than two weeks after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit near Salt Lake City on March 18th...
An earthquake struck near Salt Lake City Wednesday morning, shutting down a major air traffic hub, damaging a spire atop a temple and frightening millions of people already on edge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Though there were no reports of injuries and no damage was immediately reported in areas along the Utah-Idaho border, there was damage scattered in the Salt Lake City area -- with the earthquake showering bricks onto sidewalks and releasing a chemical plume outside the city.
In fact, that quake caused so much shaking that it actually knocked the trumpet out of the grasp of the statue of the angel Moroni...
The 5.7-magnitude earthquake that shook Utah Wednesday morning also dislodged a symbolic part of Salt Lake City's iconic Mormon temple: the trumpet of an angel statue atop its highest spire.
The temple is the spiritual focal point for the 16 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Following that dramatic seismic event, there have been hundreds of aftershocks.
And remember, this is not a part of the country that is known for lots of quakes.
According to the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, there had already been 658 aftershocks from that event as of Monday morning...
More than 600 earthquakes have hit across Utah and surrounding areas after a 5.7-magnitude quake struck near Salt Lake City about two weeks ago, according to University of Utah Seismograph Stations.
As of Monday morning, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, or UUSS, recorded 658 earthquakes as part of a series of aftershocks.
Of course there will be plenty of aftershocks following the quake that just hit Idaho as well.
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