Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Earthquake!
At 5.31am I was still in bed. But I had noticed the slight rocking of the coach. Earthquake - I thought and checked it on the pages of the USGS. And there it was - a big blue square south of the border. It was  a 4.1 and only 0.2km under the surface. 
Earthquake map centered at 33°N,115°W

Magnitude4.1
Date-Time
Location32.345°N, 115.235°W
Depth0.2 km (~0.1 mile) (poorly constrained)
RegionBAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Distances
  • 13 km (8 miles) WNW (298°) from Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico
  • 40 km (25 miles) SSE (147°) from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
  • 44 km (28 miles) SE (146°) from Calexico, CA
  • 169 km (105 miles) E (97°) from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 2 km (1.2 miles); depth +/- 3.7 km (2.3 miles)
ParametersNph= 33, Dmin=50 km, Rmss=0.48 sec, Gp=223°,
M-type=local magnitude (ML), Version=0
Source
Event IDci15098716

We have had quakes here in earlier years. I remember a 4.7 which rocked us pretty good. And one year, we had just left the area a 7.2 struck the area and caused quite a damage on buildings on both sides of the border.


San Andreas Fault
Being that close to the San Andreas Fault we are aware of that earthquakes can occur at any time. When visiting the Joshua Tree National Park recently I was looking down on the San Andreas Fault from Keys View Point.

The good thing for us is that we are not in a building, but in an RV. It would take a lot to cause damage to an RV parked out in the desert. The worst scenario would be that roads break up and we can't get out.


Enjoy a quake-free day!

7 comments:

  1. We don't like earthquakes and especially when we're in the area. So, they need to stop before we get there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then you should not come to this area. Go here: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqscanv/
      and see how many earthquakes there are every week.
      I was scared, but have relaxed somewhat now. It is just normal that there are around 300-400 smaller ones on the map at any time.

      Delete
  2. No earthquakes in Vienna lately, although apparently we had a big one in 1590. Does that mean we're "due"?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well at 5:31AM it would have to be a 10 before it would wake me up !! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with Sassy on this one - 5:30 - wouldn't have noticed it. But I used to live in San Diego and you do get used to them. However, the first few bothered me. The building I worked in would sway and I had trouble understanding that they were built to sway with the earthquakes. Rather be in an RV than in a building, that's for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hadn't thought about quakes when we finally travel to that part of the country, so thanks for the reassurance that we probably have nothing to fear. LOVE the photo of the fault!

      Delete

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