Ridgecrest city in Kern County, California, is still plagued by frequent earthquakes today, after a dual event earlier this month. From July 4 to July 5 two earthquakes rocked the state, one 6.4 followed by an explosive magnitude 7.1 shock. The earthquakes raised the alarm amongst locals who feared the events would precede the fabled ‘Big One’, which was predicted by scientists more than a decade ago. Repeated activity more than two weeks later has been much weaker, but come in large clusters.
According to the United States Geological Survey, 123 earthquakes have rocked nearby in the last 10 days, more than half of California’s annual average of 234.
Most of these earthquakes ranged between magnitude 3 and 4, with one magnitude 3 earthquake just six miles outside the city today.
The weaker earthquakes indicate the fault moved out of place by the first strong tremors is now rearranging itself.
The earthquakes detected by the USGS have all rumbled deep underground, with an average depth of 0.5 to 3 miles.
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While these earthquakes warrant no emergency response, experts have noticed the aftershocks are heading towards a fault line with the potential dangerous seismic activity.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Ridgecrest aftershocks are heading southeast towards the Garlock Fault.
The lesser-known fault line is 160 miles long, with the ability to produce an earthquake magnitude of 8 or more.
Any shocks generated by the fault – located at the northern edge of the Mojave Desert – would send crippling seismic activity south and west towards Los Angeles, Ventura and Bakersfield counties.
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According to earthquake experts, the direction of the smaller tremors indicates a major earthquake may be on the way.
Morgan Page, a USGS research geophysicist, told the LA Times: “Those are places we would be more concerned.
“Little earthquakes are telling us where big earthquakes are more likely.”
Despite the warning, the USGS has dismissed claims the ‘Big One’ – an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more in California – is on the way.
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Rafael Abreu, a geophysicist with the USGS National Earthquake Information Centre in Colorado, said: “This specific sequence of earthquakes – the ones in Ridgecrest and the ones in Blackhawk – are not indicative that ‘The Big One’ is coming.”
He said earthquake activity in the state this year is what seismologists usually expect.
Mr Abreu continued: ”We’re having quakes exactly where, geographically speaking, we’d expect these quakes to happen.
“And we’re having the amount of earthquakes we’d expect to see.”