DESERT SECRETS

Area 51 Earthquakes Spark Conspiracy Theories

After a series of unusual earthquakes, Area 51 has spawned a new set of rumors.

A burst of unusual seismic activity near Area 51 has conspiracy theorists in overdrive. At least 17 earthquakes were recorded within roughly 24 hours near the secretive Nevada site, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quakes ranged from magnitude 2.5 to 4.4 and struck just miles from the base, long rumored to house everything from alien tech to classified weapons programs. The tremors’ proximity to the Nevada Test Site—where the U.S. conducted nuclear tests for decades—has only fueled speculation online, with some tying the activity to fringe claims about missing scientists and secret experiments. Even President Donald Trump was asked about the 10 missing and dead high-profile scientists, telling reporters in April he hopes the disappearances are random but that “we’re going to know in the next week and a half.” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News on Tuesday that the final report on the missing scientists will be finished “in short order.” Geophysicist Stefan Burns noted in a video that the 4.4 magnitude quake struck in “an unusual place,” citing its shallow depth and location. He added the activity was “worth discussing” in the context of whether something more unusual—like “a covert underground nuclear test”—could be at play.