Series of earthquakes strike near historic nuclear testing site in Nevada

UPDATED: Jun 6, 2025 01:10 IST

A series of earthquakes struck near Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base, a former Cold War nuclear testing site where tests ended in 1992.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a magnitude 3.3 earthquake at 9:52 a.m. ET, about 14 miles northeast of Nellis Air Force Base, followed closely by two smaller tremors.

The seismic activity occurred along the California Wash Fault, a segment of the tectonically active Basin and Range Province that spans much of the western United States.

While no injuries or damage have been reported, residents as far west as North Las Vegas noted feeling the shaking. The California Wash Fault is capable of producing much stronger earthquakes, up to magnitude 6.5, according to geologists. Nevada ranks as the third-most seismically active US state, trailing only California and Alaska.

Nellis Air Force Base, located within the same vast federally controlled region as the highly classified Area 51, played a key role in America's nuclear weapons program during the Cold War.

Originally designated the Nevada Proving Grounds in 1950 by President Harry S Truman, the site became home to the Nevada Test Site (NTS), where 100 atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted between 1951 and 1962.

Following the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, nuclear testing moved underground. The US carried out a total of 828 underground nuclear tests at the NTS before halting all testing in 1992, with the final detonation, code-named "Divider", marking the end of an era. The decision to end testing coincided with the conclusion of the Cold War and was seen as a move to promote global nuclear restraint.

Though no longer used for nuclear testing, Nellis and the surrounding restricted areas remain crucial to US military operations and have become cultural touchstones due to decades of speculation about secretive projects and extraterrestrial life.

Area 51, in particular, has fueled conspiracy theories and pop culture fascination. It gained mainstream attention in 1989 after physicist Bob Lazar claimed he worked at a covert facility studying alien technology. The CIA officially acknowledged Area 51's existence in 2013, revealing its role in high-altitude reconnaissance programs, including the development of the U-2 and A-12 spy planes—craft that inadvertently sparked a wave of UFO sightings during the 1950s and ’60s.