A magnitude 3.8 earthquake shook residents in a 400-square-mile area near Trinidad early today, the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden reported.
The quake, centered about 22 miles west-southwest of Trinidad near the small town of Cokedale, occurred at 7:34 a.m. No reports of damage have been received.
“It probably felt like just a little rumbling, like a truck passing by,” said Vince Matthews of the Colorado Geological Survey.
Since 1882, 43 earthquakes have occurred within a 50-mile radius of today’s event. The most recent quake in the area was a 3.5tremor in 2004.
In 2001, an earthquake cluster with about 13 temblors was recorded between 3 and 12 miles west of Trinidad. The largest tremor, a magnitude 4.5 quake, toppled a chimney, cracked plaster and stucco and shook pictures off of walls.
Colorado’s largest observed earthquake, estimated by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 6.6, occurred north of Estes Park in 1882. The quake caused damage along the Front Range as far south as Pueblo.
