Nevada Rattles in Its Sleep,

But the Big One Still Waits to Show Off

It appears the earth beneath northern Nevada, like an old mule with a burr under its saddle, has taken to kicking now and again—not hard enough to bust up the barn, mind you, but just enough to remind you that it’s still there, sulking and waiting for its day in the sun.

Beginning early Sunday, a gaggle of earthquakes—some no bigger than a hiccup in a teacup—took to dancing their minuet beneath the sagebrush and sand. The most boisterous of the bunch hit at 2:22 a.m. when most respectable folks were asleep, and the rest were wishing they were.

That shaker measured a 3.4 on the seismograph scale, which, for the uninitiated, is about the geological equivalent of your Aunt Martha dropping a pumpkin pie in the kitchen and hollering about it.

The quake took place 14.5 miles southwest of Fernley and dug in about 30,183 feet beneath the crust, where it no doubt stews with its comrades like mischief-prone schoolboys in a cellar. A little while later—5:02 a.m.—a tremor, clocking in at 2.4, happened the same distance northeast of Virginia City as a retort.

Now, these weren’t lone wolves. A whole family reunion of miniature tremors, ranging between 1.1 and 1.6 in magnitude, came ambling through the same countryside over the next 24 hours, quiet enough that even the coyotes didn’t pause their howling–or whatever less cliché sound you fancy they make these days.

Farther afield, a modest 1.5 magnitude tremor tapped the earth’s shoulder 9.1 miles east-northeast of Yerington just before lunch on Sunday. It was polite enough to come and go without causing a stir, a trait many politicians could learn from.

According to the learned folk at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory—a fine bunch, though I suspect some of them could use a good shave and a vacation—more than two dozen tremors have visited the area within a 35-mile radius over the past 60 days. It’s a warning sign from Mother Earth as she practices her steps before the real cotillion.

Now, lest you grow nervous and wrap your fine china in bubble wrap, let me assure you: DOGE, bless its pixelated heart, will not prevent an earthquake from giving its best performance. When the Big One decides it’s time to take center stage, no cryptocurrency nor canary in the coal mine will hold it back.

Until then, sleep well and keep your boots near the bed. The earth may be old, but she still knows how to tap her foot when the mood strikes.