Earthquake Commentary for March, 1998

Map of recent earthquake activity

Send comments and suggestions to:kate@bombay.gps.caltech.edu


10:53 PST, Monday, March 30

Seismic activity has been low for the latter half of last week and the weekend. On Saturday, at 5:49 pm, there was a M2.5 in southwestern Owens Valley, 8 miles south of Olancha.

The only earthquake that was felt in the past few days occurred at 6:48 am on Sunday, located in the Laguna Beach area. It had a magnitude of M2.6, and we did get some inquiries from the epicentral area.

The largest quake in the past few days occurred last night at 7:40 pm. It was a M2.8 Landers aftershock 18 miles north of Yucca Valley.


09:00 PST, Wednesday, March 25

There was a ML3.0 quake near the Garlock Fault, 12 mi. NNE of the town of Mojave, at 1:53 pm yesterday. The Garlock Fault is a left-lateral strike-slip fault that separates the Tehachapi Mtns. and the southern Sierra from the Mojave Desert. It has produced M5+ quakes in historic times, the latest being the ML5.7 Mojave earthquake on July 11, 1992, which was located 3 miles to the east of yesterday's epicenter. Yesterday's quake seems to have been a loner; no aftershocks.


09:28 PST, Tuesday, March 24

The largest quakes in our area last night were M2.3's. One occurred at 3:48 am, in the Coso Range sequence, and the other at 3:51 am in the Victorville area. Needless to say, because of the size, neither was felt. There was also a couple of M2.2's near Borrego Springs at 12:38 am.

Henceforth, I am not going to update this Web page for an earthquake smaller than M2.5, unless someone feels it.


13:00 PST, Monday, March 23

The most recent quake of interest was a ML3.2 at 10:23 am today, located in the Santa Ynez Mtns., 4 miles NNE of Carpinteria. The focal mechanism was thrust. So far, no-one has called us to indicate that the quake was felt. It is not, by the way, a Northridge aftershock; the epicenter is too far west.


09:50 PST, Monday, March 23

We didn't really have any earthquakes worth mentioning this weekend. The largest of the insignificant ones, however, were: a M2.5 in the Coso Range sequence at 6:15 pm on Saturday, and a M2.3 Landers afterschock at 12:08 am on Sunday (i.e. just after midnight).


13:48 PST, Friday, March 20

The largest quake inside our Network in the past 24 hours was a 2.0.


16:01 PST, Thursday, March 19

The largest earthquake in the past few days was a M3.8 in the Coso Range (Little Lake) sequence that started last week with a M5.2. The M3.8 occurred Wednesday (March 18), just after noon. Like the bulk of the sequence so far, it had a strike-slip focal mechanism. Almost two hours earlier, there was a M3.1 at the same location. The M3.8 was also followed by a few aftershocks, up to M2.7 in magnitude.


Last updated 10:54 PST March 30, 1998
Send comments and suggestions to:kate@bombay.gps.caltech.edu