Great
Earthquakes In Diverse Places
California: Swarm of Earthquakes Shake San Francisco Bay
Area
Updated at 01:35 AM today
SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif. -- The U.S. Geological Survey reported
another pair of magnitude 3.0 and larger earthquakes struck
Wednesday evening near Monterey County, less than a day after a
4.5-magnitude tremor and numerous aftershocks rattled the region.
The largest earthquakes this evening - one with a magnitude of 3.7
and the other with a magnitude of 3.9 - shook an area seven miles
west of Prunedale at 7:54 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
Since Wednesday morning, that area of the hills bordering Monterey
and San Benito counties has experienced 27 earthquakes following
the magnitude 4.5 quake that punctuated the day's seismic
activity.
That tremor struck near Fremont Peak State Park at 12:51 a.m.,
according to the USGS, and had a depth of 1.8 miles. The epicenter
was located 10 miles east-southeast of Prunedale and 45 miles
south-southeast of San Jose.
Most of the aftershocks had a magnitude between 1.1 and 2.9, but
four of the 27 measured 3.0 or larger.
Hundreds of people in the Bay Area reported that they felt weak
shaking due to the quakes, according to information collected by
the USGS, with the strongest shaking felt around Salinas and San
Juan Bautista and weak shaking reported as far away as San Rafael.
This is the second time since Friday that the greater Bay Area has
experienced a temblor with a magnitude larger than 4.0. On Friday,
an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 struck east of San Jose and
could be felt throughout much of the Bay Area.
Before Wednesday, the most recent earthquake in the San Juan
Bautista area measured 2.2 and struck on Jan. 6, 2011, according
to the USGS.
(Copyright 2011 by Bay City News