Unusually shallow earthquakes strike near Area 51
( NewsNation ) — Several earthquakes over the past 24 hours struck near Nevada’s Area 51 , prompting speculation the seismic activity may have something to do with nuclear testing.
At least 17 earthquakes, including one with a 4.4 magnitude, were detected near Area 51. The 4.4 magnitude quake, according to The Daily Mail , struck just 2 1/2 miles underground. Most earthquakes in the region occur within the top 6 to 12 miles of the Earth’s crust, prompting questions about nuclear testing.
NewsNation has reached out to the United States Geological Survey for comment.
The Nevada National Security Site, located next to Area 51, hosted more than 900 nuclear tests between 1951 and 1992.
What is Area 51? What we know about the military installation
Area 51 is a highly classified United States military installation within the Nevada Test and Training Range , Military.com reports . Located 83 miles from Las Vegas, it was built in 1955 to serve as a test facility for the Lockheed U-2 Spy Plane.
The origin of the name is unclear, according to Military.com. The general belief is that Area 51 was part of an Atomic Energy Commission numbering grid. However, Area 51 does not belong to this system.
Over the years, other well-known aircraft have been tested at Area 51, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
Area 51 was not officially acknowledged by the CIA as a military base until June 2013.
Area 51 conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories about Area 51 began in the late 1980s, when a man who allegedly worked at the installation said the U.S. government was auditing recovered alien aircraft.
Other theories include Area 51 being used for weather manipulation, the development of energy weapons and exotic propulsion systems and the storage and reverse-engineering of alien spacecraft.
The creator of a website collecting information on all things Area 51 believes the future of military tech is still being tested in the Nevada desert, with the most enigmatic activities occurring inside a top-secret base tucked inside the larger facility.
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The more secrecy surrounding Area 51, the more insatiable the public’s appetite for information on the secret Nevada base becomes.
“[If] they don’t want you to see it, you’re not going to see it,” said Joerg Arnu, creator of dreamlandresort.com, a digital gathering place for aerospace enthusiasts, aviation watchers and some who have worked at the best-known secret base in the world. “They have years and years and decades of experience hiding things.”
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