RE: [californiadisasters] Kate... Question about the 4.3 Maricopa and 3.9 Weldon earthquake today.

Thank you Kate!

 

Ray

 

From: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com [mailto:californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Kate Hutton
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 1:09 PM
To: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] Kate... Question about the 4.3 Maricopa and 3.9 Weldon earthquake today.

 

Ray -

Sorry for the delay.  Normally we do not assign quakes this small to a particular fault, as it is almost impossible to know for sure.  Also, these quakes can be on very small faults (a few hundred yards long, say), that never reach the surface to be mapped & named by geologists.

When a quake is larger it can have surface rupture, which makes the fault ID obvious, or a string of aftershocks that outline the deep rupture.  Then we may be able to say with more confidence.

This uncertainty is the main reason for not giving "nearest fault" on every quake.  For most quakes, it is a big red herring that focuses public questions on one narrow topic, where we don't know the answer.  Latitude & longitude are still given, though, so you could look at a fault map if you were serious about it.

It is reasonably common for quakes smaller than 5.0 to have no aftershocks.  A few even above that limit may have none.

Kate

On Mon, May 10, 2010 at 9:24 PM, Ray Gallagher <rayban1@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

 

Hello Kate,

 

My name is Ray and I live in Bakersfield.   I am curious about the 4.3 earthquake near Maricopa on 05-08-2010 and was wondering if it was located on the White Wolf Fault?  It’s hard to tell on the map if the White Wolf Fault goes that far.  Does the White Wolf Fault connect with the San Andreas?  Is it unusual for a 4.3 earthquake to have no aftershocks?

 

About the 3.9 in Weldon today, I was wondering too if you knew what fault it was located on.  Kern Canyon Fault?  Our local news said they contacted the Army Corps of Engineers at the Lake Isabella Dam and they felt the shaking there and it was a pretty good jolt.  They went on to say after doing a preliminary inspection there was no damage to the dam, but they were going to be doing a more thorough inspection of both dams.

 

I can remember back in the “olden days” when Preliminary Earthquake Reports used to show not only the nearest towns from the epicenter, but the nearest fault.  Is there a place to find that information now and why did they stop giving the nearest fault on the reports.

 

Thank you so much!

 

Ray

 

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