The number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.0 in Southern California and Baja California has increased significantly in 2010. Scientists are studying the uptick but cannot fully explain it.
LA Times/ April 13, 2010
Seismologists in California were busy this week fighting rumors apparently floating on Twitter that a major earthquake was likely in the next few days.
Officials at Caltech say that rumor is not true — and that no such prediction can be made. But researchers say there has been an uptick in earthquakes this year.
The number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.0 in Southern California and Baja California has increased significantly in 2010. There have been 70 such quakes so far this year, the most of any year in the last decade. And it’s only April. There were 30 in 2009 and 29 in 2008.
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More moving and shaking, but why?
By Cara Mia DiMassa / LA Times / April 12, 2010
If you’ve been feeling more shaking this year, it’s not your imagination.
The number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.0 in Southern California and Baja California has increased significantly in 2010. There have been 70 such quakes so far this year, the most of any year in the last decade. And it’s only April. There were 30 in 2009 and 29 in 2008.
Seismologists said they are studying the uptick but cannot fully explain it. Major earthquakes tend to occur in cycles, and experts have said the region in recent years has been in a quiet cycle when it comes to sizable temblors.
The string of quakes this year raises the possibility that Southern California might again be entering a more active seismic period. Scientists said the increase does not mean the Big One is any more imminent, but it could mean more significant quakes are on the way.
For the remainder of this article, go here.
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That Baja peninsula wants to crack open to the Salten Sea. One look at the globe and it’s obvious. If you live in El Centro, buy a boat.
Cara Mia DiMassa, in the accompanying video, said that 60 of those quakes this year are related to the large one on Easter.