California earthquake packed unusually wide punch, experts say

[bananas]

Source: Los Angeles Times



Monday morning's magnitude 4.7 earthquake in Riverside County was the largest temblor to hit the Los Angeles region in three years and has produced more than 100 aftershocks.
It caused no major damage, but it was felt over what seismologists said was an unusually large area.

The quake was initially recorded as three separate quakes because a foreshock tricked seismographs into recording multiple quakes of multiple sizes, said Susan Hough, a USGS seismologist.

Earthquakes of a 4.7 magnitude are typically only felt about 120 miles away from the epicenter, but Monday morning's quake traveled farther, shaking coffee cups as far as Los Angeles. The USGS said it was felt as far away as Arizona.

That's because the quake occurred in the San Jacinto Mountains, which are composed of hard granite rock that transmits energy more efficiently, Hough said.

<snip>

Read more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/california-earthquake-wide-punch-.html

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Shook us in San Diego.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Didn't feel it here.....a suburb of LA, out by LAX.

Weird!

[jberryhill]

6. "a suburb of LA"

That phrase tickles my funnybone. Isn't pretty much all of LA a suburb of LA?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Oh, probably!

I live in Manhattan Beach...

[jberryhill]

9. I went there by accident one night

I was damn near all the way to Long Beach on Sepulveda from MDR looking for LAX before I thought, "Y'know, I musta missed Century a while back."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. Yup, you sure did miss LAX!

That's north of here!

I hope you found it eventually!

[Lobo27]

2. Out of curiosity, to those who live in California.

Is there any fracking going on in California?

[jaysunb]

4. They want to... up near Bakersfield,

but I think enough folks are on to it that it won't happen. It will be very difficult to sell the same crap here knowing the number and activity of the fault lines.

[davidpdx]

5. OMG fracking in California would be a huge mistake

It would be like poking a bull and just standing there to see if it hits you back.

[Journeyman]

7. There's a lot of interest, the Legislature wants to "control" it, Gov Brown opposes restrictions...

Bills seek tighter control of fracking
First state hearing set for Wednesday in Bakersfield

Written by Laura Olson, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — The growing concern over hydraulic fracturing, the technology that has led to an oil and gas boom in many parts of the country has caught the attention of California lawmakers as companies seek to expand production in the San Joaquin Valley and other areas, including south Monterey County.

At least eight bills proposing to regulate or tax the industry’s expansion are under consideration this year. They include proposals to require disclosure of the ingredients used in fracking, which uses a high-pressure blast of water and chemicals to release oil from deep rock formations, and ensure that drilling companies have plans for handling wastewater and monitoring groundwater.

A federal report last year identified the Monterey Shale, which stretches from Kern County’s oil fields north through the San Joaquin Valley, as one of the largest oil deposits in the nation. That forecast helped re-ignite interest in the reserve but raised alarm among environmental groups that see regulators as favoring industry.

<snip>

Environmentalists said getting tougher rules in place is vital. They expressed frustration with steps Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration took in 2011 to accelerate permit approval and his firing of two regulators who resisted that effort.

“There’s rising interest in our Legislature about fracking and (state regulators’) ineptness and cozy nature with the oil and gas industry,” said Bill Allayaud of the Environmental Working Group.

Brown is not supporting the bills.

<snip>

http://www.thecalifornian.com/viewart/20130311/NEWS01/303110010/Bills-seek-tighter-control-fracking

[olddots]

3. Nothing here in the San Ferdopey Valley

people would have dropped their ( your joke here ) The t.v. news will have absurd scare tactic BREAKING NEWS at 11 between commercial breaks .

[littlemissmartypants]

11. Thank you. n/t