California was rocked by a series of earthquakes this weekend, prompting many locals to question why the state was so active on Saturday.
After people began to come out to worry that the ongoing heat wave was fueling these earthquakes, experts had to clarify that, despite popular belief, there really is no such thing as “earthquake weather.”
California Is Very Seismically Active
California is one of the most seismically active regions in the entire United States. On a daily basis, many earthquakes occur throughout the Golden State.
However, these earthquakes often aren’t felt at all by regular residents. Instead, they’re only seen on radars.
An Increase in Quakes in California?
However, this year has already seen quite a lot of earthquakes up and down California, prompting many locals to question whether there’s been a real increase in quake activity.
Though California hasn’t had a major quake that caused damage yet, locals are becoming more on edge with each new one.
California Rocked With Multiple Quakes
On Saturday, locals throughout Southern California experienced a series of quakes. The greatest one was about a 3.9 magnitude.
These quakes were mainly centered in Ontario, a town that is about 35 miles east of Los Angeles. However, shaking was felt in Los Angeles, as well as throughout other counties, such as San Diego and Orange.
Quakes Felt Throughout California
While much talk was given to these Southern California quakes, other earthquakes were also felt in different regions of the state on Saturday.
A 4.3 magnitude quake was seen a bit north of the Bay Area. Meanwhile, a small 2.7 quake was experienced near Lake Tahoe.
No Damage Reported
Though this quake was felt, it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. So far, there has luckily been no reported damage or injuries after the shaking subsided.
Many Californians did go online to share their experiences and ensure what they felt truly was an earthquake.
An Alert Was Sent Out
The United States Geological Survey sent out a ShakeAlert to those in the vicinity of these quakes moments before people began to feel the ground tremble beneath their feet.
The alert sent to many phones said, “Earthquake detected! Drop, cover, hold on. Protect yourself.”
The Fontana Trend
According to geologists, these latest earthquakes in Southern California stem from the Fontana Trend, a region that is close to the San Andreas Fault.
Earthquakes in the Fontana Trend tend to be incredibly weak, and they often don’t reach any higher than a 4.0 magnitude quake.
Is Heat to Blame for these Quakes?
Soon after these earthquakes were experienced, many people began to question what caused the quakes to begin with.
As much of California, as well as much of the West Coast, is currently under a brutal heat dome, many people began to draw lines between the heat wave and this series of earthquakes.
No Earthquake Weather
However, experts have since clarified that the heat wave has nothing to do with these quakes, as heat doesn’t influence seismic activity in this way.
The USGS has previously explained, “There is no such thing as ‘earthquake weather’. Statistically, there is approximately an equal distribution of earthquakes in cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather, etc.”
Are There Now More Quakes in California?
Californians have been claiming that they’ve felt more earthquakes than ever before this year. Data has shown that they’re right.
According to past data, the last 20 years have been relatively quiet when it comes to quakes. Before these last two decades, about 10 to 12 earthquakes were felt each year.
Returning to Normal?
Now, it appears that California is returning to this type of activity that hasn’t been seen in 20 years. So far, 2024 has experienced at least 13 sequences of quakes.
Geophysicist Lucy Jones has explained, “So lots of variability but 2024 is closer to normal than the quiet of the last 2 decades.”
