(MULLEN)-A light earthquake has nudged Hooker County in the Sandhills of western Nebraska.
     The U.S. Geological Survey says the temblor occurred just before 10 p.m. Sunday. It registered a magnitude of 2.7, and its epicenter was about three miles underground at a spot about 13 miles west-northwest of Mullen or 122 miles east of Scottsbluff.
     Hooker County Sheriff Lynn Nichols said Monday that his office hadn't gotten any calls about damage or any injuries.

      Historically speaking, Nebraska’s two largest earthquakes that originated in the state were both recorded at magnitudes of 5.1. The first occurred on November 15, 1877. Its proposed epicenter lies on the western flank of the Keweenawan mafic belt. Damage was most severe at Columbus, in Platte County, northwest of the epicenter, where the 30-second shock split the courthouse walls in nine places and damaged the schoolhouse walls. Two severe shocks at North Platte cracked walls and overturned printing cases. About 200 kilometers north of Lincoln, at Sioux City, Iowa, a high school sustained cracks in a wall. The earthquake was felt over all or parts of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

       The second earthquake occurred on March 28, 1964. The epicenter was recorded near Merriman. Many cracks formed in the roadway south of Merriman, and steep slopes slumped into the Niobrara River. Merchandise in stores was broken, dishes were broken, and stucco under windows cracked. At Alliance, about 135 kilometers southwest of Merriman, part of a chimney cap fell on a house; at Rushville, about 35 kilometers southwest of Merriman, plaster fell and a wall cracked. The earthquake was also felt in Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

       (Info courtesy the Associated Press and U.S. Geological Survey)