SAN ANTONIO - The 3.1 magnitude earthquake near Nixon, Texas, that happened Tuesday morning has a lot of people talking, and some wondering if it will happen again.
- 45 miles southeast from San Antonio
- 68 miles south of Austin
It happened about 45 miles southeast from San Antonio and 68 miles south of Austin.
Jamie Hincapie has studied earthquakes for 20 years. He's a professor in the Department of Geological studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Spectrum News asked him if Texas could see a big tremor any time soon.
"The way geologists answer that kind of question always starts with 'If conditions remain.’ If current conditions remain, no, the answer is no," Hincapie said.
READ MORE | 3.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Texas
He said earthquakes happen all the time, but we just don't know about them. This most recent happened because the area is so close to the Gulf of Mexico and what's called an extension basin.
"What is happening is the land is kind of separating naturally. What happens is when these big blocks of land detach from each other they might drop a little bit and that little motion can cause some vibration," he said.
When there are talks of earthquakes happening in Texas, many wonder about drilling and injection wells.
"It is very unlikely because the amount of energy you need to produce an earthquake is considerable," said Hincapie.
According to research from UT Austin, stronger earthquakes could be more common near El Paso and in the Panhandle and could happen every 50 to 100 years at magnitudes up to 6.
States with even stronger potentials are Oklahoma and Missouri.