At least 127 earthquakes have been recorded in a highly restricted region of central Nevada that contains several major US military and nuclear-related facilities.
The seismic activity began on Saturday, with the latest tremor detected on Wednesday.
The quakes ranged from magnitude 3.3 down to about 1.4, striking in the vicinity of the Tonopah Test Range, sometimes referred to as 'Area 52.'
The remote military range near the town of Tonopah is not primarily used for nuclear detonations, but it has long been linked to US nuclear weapons programs.
The site is used to test how nuclear weapons would be delivered, including experiments where aircraft drop non-nuclear versions of bombs to study their performance.
It has also been used for missile and aircraft testing, and during the Cold War, hosted experiments in which mock nuclear bombs were dropped to simulate real weapons deployments.
The earthquake swarm is also outside of the Nevada National Security Site, which is currently active in the nation's nuclear programs.
Scientists say the large number of earthquakes near Tonopah is most likely linked to the region’s natural geology.
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