2.9 magnitude earthquake recorded in northern part of Denver metro area
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded an earthquake early Friday morning in the northern part of the Denver metro area.
The 2.9 magnitude quake was recorded in Dacono, about 30 miles north of Denver, around 6 a.m. and was felt by hundreds of people, according to the Geological Survey.
Despite being felt, it was considered a relatively weak earthquake. The Richter scale, which is the tool used to measure the strength of earthquakes, goes up to 10, and the U.S. Geological Survey says there are over 1 million earthquakes worldwide under a 3 on the scale each year.
Most quakes under a 3 are hardly felt, and property damage doesn't tend to occur under a 5 on the scale.
For context, most of the most destructive earthquakes in the last 100 years have been between a 6 and 8 magnitude. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed over 220,000 people was a 9.0, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed tens of thousands of people was a 7.0.
CBS Colorado First Alert Chief Meteorologist Dave Aguilera says earthquakes are rare in Colorado, and those that can be felt are even rarer.
Dacono is in the southwestern portion of Weld County, and the area is home to a several oil wells, something nearby residents have voiced opposition to, and which some scientists say is to blame for an increased number and intensity of earthquakes. A 2014 study posted online in "Science" connected thousands of small earthquakes to oil and gas production.
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake in 1882 was the strongest recorded in Colorado since they started being recorded and tracked. Since then, at least six quakes of a 5.0 magnitude or higher have been recorded by the Colorado Geological Survey. Scientists have been warning about the possibility of a massive quake in the state.
