The latest West Texas and southeast New Mexico earthquakes linked to deep wastewater wells were in the strong 4-plus magnitude range.
It was last Thursday when a 4.7 magnitude quake was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey about 34 miles south of Whites City in New Mexico. More than a thousand earthquakes have been recorded in the region so far this year.
The 4.7 magnitude quake came a day after a 3.1 quake had rattled the region.
Like the series of earthquakes that struck Oklahoma a few years ago, the quakes in west Texas and southeast New Mexico are often believed caused by deep injection in wastewater wells used by the oil and gas industry.