A wave of more than 100 minor earthquakes was recorded in Nevada, USA, over the past week, triggering speculation that the tremors could be caused by nuclear testing activity.
The tremors occurred close to the Tonopah Test Range, also called Area 52, amid the escalating US-Iran tensions.
The range is about 3 hours northeast of Las Vegas and is close to Area 51. Area 51 is a highly classified US military installation operated by the Department of Energy and DoW.
Over the past week, small magnitude tremors to minor earthquakes were felt in the region. Most of the tremors ranged from about 1.0 to 1.9 in magnitude.
All of the tremors were reported within a 50 mile radius of Tonopah in the past week, the Daily Mail reported.
The US Geological Survey said that the quakes began on Sunday afternoon and continued through early hours on Monday.
The latest tremor, a 3.9 magnitude on the Richter scale, can be felt by a person on the ground.
The Nevada range has been historically associated with weapons testing and classified defence research, which is what sparked the rumours.
However, seismic events are not uncommon in the region as it lies within an active tectonic zone called the Central Nevada Seismic Zone, a narrow strip of land running from north to south for 200 to 300 miles.
While nuclear testing activities do generate seismic signatures, security analysts caution against linking seismic events to weapons testing.
The US, despite not being part of some global treaties, is still a signatory to international frameworks. Besides that, nuclear weapons also carry severe humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.
Seismic signals generated by nuclear weapons testing and earthquakes differ with real quakes typically involving deeper fault slippage. Earthquakes also produce more shear waves.
However seismic signals from nuclear testing can also create small aftershocks and fault movement.
For now the the seismic events have come right as the US is embroiled in a war with Iran in the Middle East after coordinating an attack with Israel to assassinate the Supreme Leader of the country.
The final nuclear weapons treaty signed by the US and Russia also expired early in February, just weeks before the seismic activity was picked by the USGS
US President Donald Trump also warned that the “biggest wave” of the attacks against Iran hasn't even happened yet.
In October 2025, Trump had directed the resumption of nuclear testing on an equal basis with Russia and China and rhetoric about potentially ending the long-standing voluntary moratorium on explosive tests. Officials with the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) warned America may soon have no choice but to restart its weapons testing programs amid reports that both Russia and China were expanding their programs.
However, as of now, there have been no full-scale nuclear explosive detonations reported.
