The Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) wants to understand more about what’s moving the earth in southern Wyoming and around the world. To do this, they ordered a Raspberry Shake.
Raspberry Shake is a brand of seismographs designed to be accessible, efficient and easy to install. It’s also tiny, a small box that can be put almost anywhere. The new Raspberry Shake installed in Laramie will contribute to a growing global network of earthquake detection and monitoring.
“I am not a seismologist, and I've never installed a seismograph before, but I was able to install this Raspberry Shake,” said WSGS geologist James Mauch. “They’re simple, fairly inexpensive, easy to install and remarkable tools to detect earthquakes in southeast Wyoming and around the globe.”
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Shake, launched via Kickstarter in 2016, creates small but powerful seismographs that share real-time earthquake information through an online database. They do this through multiple sensors and a small onboard computer called a Raspberry Pi.
More than 2,000 Raspberry Shake stations are installed in over 70 countries, detecting around 700 earthquakes daily.
Mauch said the WSGS installed a Raspberry Shake in Laramie because of its low cost and simple installation. The small seismograph is a favorite of citizen science initiatives because of its accessibility and online connectivity.
“The Raspberry Shake pics up the ground motion from an earthquake,” he said. “That's measured by a geophone, which is converted into a live seismogram you can see online. They’re so simple, with an easy interface to send this data to the web. That’s why we chose to go with this style of seismograph.”
Quiet Neighborhood
Laramie isn’t a seismically active area, especially compared to places like Yellowstone National Park, which detects thousands of earthquakes every year. That’s one of the reasons why the WSGS decided to install a Raspberry Shake in the area.
The largest earthquake ever recorded in Wyoming was a magnitude 6.3 in Yellowstone on Aug. 18, 1959. The WSGS attributed it as an aftershock of the magnitude 7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake in southwestern Montana that occurred the day before.
Mauch said there is a low density of seismic stations in southwest Wyoming, a direct result of the lack of seismic activity in the area. But that doesn’t mean Laramie is devoid of earthquakes.
“We've had some earthquakes in the southeast corner of the state over the last few years,” Mauch said. “We're hoping to pick up those minor earthquakes, which will allow us to learn more about the tectonic environment in southwest Wyoming.”
One particular region of interest to the WSGS is the Saratoga Valley. Mauch said that there has been, on average, at least one magnitude 3.0 earthquake originating from this spot every year for the last decade.
According to the Richter Scale, magnitude 3.0 earthquakes are powerful enough to be felt by people but don’t cause any damage to structures. Between 10,000 and 15,000 Magnitude 3 earthquakes are detected every year.
Detecting this many magnitude 3.0 earthquakes in a seismically “inactive” area like the Saratoga Valley is worth investigating. Mauch said the WSGS’s Raspberry Shake in Laramie will contribute to the ongoing monitoring of the area.
“That area is not completely understood by geologists,” he said. “There are no known active faults in the area, but we still get background earthquakes. We’re densifying the seismic network to detect these smaller events.”
Everything the Raspberry Shake detects is livestreamed online for people to see in real time. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
A new tiny siesmograph called a Raspberry Shake has been placed in southern Wyoming. Along with earth movements surrounding it, the device also can detect earthquakes around the world. (Wyoming Geological Survey)
Rio Grande Rift
One theory for the seismic events in the Saratoga Valley is that it could be the further extent of a well-known zone of earthquakes. Mauch explains that some geologists believe these earthquakes are connected to the extensive Rio Grande rift.
“It’s a tectonic system that extends from Colorado to New Mexico,” he said. “Southern Wyoming may be on the very northern extent of that system.”
The Rio Grande rift has been a source of tectonic activity for over 35 million years. It created a north-south land route for the Rio Grande River, one of the most critical water sources in the southwest U.S.
Following the Rio Grande rift into southwest Wyoming would be a significant geologic discovery, but more evidence is needed to prove that the tectonic zone extends that far north. The Raspberry Shake in Laramie could provide that much-needed data.
“That's one of the hypotheses that geologists have for the minor earthquakes that we've been getting in the Saratoga Valley and farther to the east in Laramie,” Mauch said. “This particular seismograph will help locate earthquakes in the region, which will certainly shed light on the tectonic environment.”
See It For Yourself
Laramie’s Raspberry Shake – R60D2 – is already online and livestreaming seismicity data on the Raspberry Shake network. It joins other Raspberry Shakes in Gillette, Casper and Cheyenne.
Mauch and the WSGS are eager to learn from their new seismograph and share that information with the world. The Laramie Raspberry Shake will contribute to the global seismic network to identify the origins of earthquakes, whether they be next door or on the opposite side of the world.
“If a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs in the Pacific Ocean, we’ll be able to detect it in Laramie,” he said. “These seismographs are an excellent outreach tool and a source of education for the public and will help with tectonic research in this part of the state.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
