Earthquakes
Between 1847 and 2004 there were more than 115 recorded earthquakes of magnitude three or greater in Texas. No Texas earthquake has exceeded a magnitude of 6.0, and most have been fairly small and caused little or no damage. Damage has occurred in at least twenty-five of the recorded earthquakes, however, and one death has been attributed to a Texas quake. Almost all of the earthquakes in Texas have been caused by one of two sources. The major source is relief of tectonic stress along fault lines. These are most common in the Rio Grande rift belt, the Panhandle, the Ouachita Belt, and the Coastal Plain. Small earthquakes have also been attributed to well injections associated with oil and gas field operations and occur in areas near large oil and gas fields.
