US | earthquake Wisconsin Town Figures Out Source of Mystery Booms 'Swarm of microquakes' apparently hit Clintonville By Matt Cantor Posted Mar 23, 2012 7:21 AM CDT Copied People turn out to get their questions answered at a meeting with city officials about the mysterious booming and rumbling in Clintonville, Wis., Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger) The mysterious booms heard in Clintonville, Wisconsin, had experts stumped—but there may be a simple explanation. "The mystery is solved. We have experienced an earthquake here in Clintonville," a city administrator explains. Geophysicists call it "swarm of microquakes," reports the Appleton Post-Crescent, and the administrator explains that the fact that Clintonville's soil and granite isn't like what's normally found under towns suffering earthquakes could be a contributing factor as well. Portable detectors picked up a magnitude 1.5 earthquake—which can only be felt within a five-mile radius—early Tuesday. The devices make their way around the country, and very few are in the state; it was a pure "fluke" that they were in the right place at the right time, adds the city official. But some geophysicists aren't 100% convinced. The data "is kind of going to throw everything into a tizzy," says one, who says the depth of the quakes need to be determined: A mile or two would be an earthquake; something shallower might not. Read These Next Sienna proves herself to be a very, very good dog. Three hikers jumped into a waterfall and never resurfaced. America has lost a '60s teen idol. Millions of student loan borrowers could see their paychecks docked. Report an error