Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake Rattles Southern California
A 4.9 earthquake has rattled Southern California
Southern California residents who were returning from lunch on Monday were shaken up by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake. The quake occurred at about 1 p.m. about 13.6 miles northeast of Barstow and could be felt throughout the southern portion of the state, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Two aftershocks – the first registering a 3.5 magnitude, the second a 2.7 – occurred within five minutes of the initial quake, the USGS reports. "We have seen quakes this size many times in the Mojave Desert," says Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismologist. "This location is near the Calico fault, which crosses the Mojave. It is more than 50 kilometers from the San Andreas fault, so it will not change the probability of a San Andreas earthquake."
As of 2:25 p.m. Monday, no injuries or significant damage had been reported.
So could this be the forbearer of a bigger quake? According to CBS News, Gabrielle Tapp, Caltech staff seismologist explained "As this Barstow earthquake was on the Calico-Hidalgo fault zone, its proximity to the San Andreas fault begs the question if this could this be a foreshock of something bigger to come. the likelihood of this being the case is pretty slim."
