China Lake Area Hit by 5.0 Quake

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake, followed by 37 significant aftershocks measuring up to 3.8 in the first four hours, rattled the geothermal area of the Coso volcanic range in Inyo County on Wednesday afternoon.

Seismologists at Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake sequence began at 12:17 p.m. and was centered in the desert 30 miles north of Ridgecrest. The sequence marked a new phase of temblors that began last year. The area is about 130 miles north of Los Angeles.

The previous quakes, centered 20 miles south of the present ones, included shocks of magnitude 5.8, 5.4 and 5.2, and were in the same welter of hundreds of faults that crisscross the area.

All of the quakes have occurred within the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. Base spokesman Steve Boster said of the latest jolt: “Most people in the area felt it, but I have no reports of any damage.”

Lucy Jones of the Geological Survey said more quakes are likely. “Given the history of the region, we should expect lots of aftershocks and be awake to the possibility of larger quakes in the next month,” she said.

The 37 aftershocks recorded were all above magnitude 2.0 and included quakes of 3.8, 3.6 and 3.2.