*Sigh,* I couldn't let this one go by without loging in....First off, I am a geology major, and I live in the L.A. area (zip code, 91342) miles away from where the quake happened. I was on my water bed (BAD IDEA) was almost thrown off, and yet nothing else in my room moved. That's not unusual, as confined bodies of water tend to amplify waves (you could have surfed in the pool). The next thing is friends and family asking me what's going on, so here is the email I sent out to them. Figured you guys may be interested too...


Where was it?

Chino Hills, Pomona area. I'm including some maps for the curious. Thank the USGS, not me.

Regular Fault map:
Recent Earthquakes in California and Nevada - Index Map

Zoom of area:
Recent Earthquakes for 118-34

Shaking intensity map:
Shakemap sc14383980

How big?

5.8, this is compared to a 6.7 for the 1994 Northridge quake. Remember, the scale is exponential, meaning that for every whole number that we go up, the magnitude of force goes up by a factor of 10. So, this was about 10 times less force then the '94 one. Also, this one didn't shake for that long.

Edit: CNN reports that the size has been revised to 5.4 as more data comes in

Was this "the BIG one?!'

No. "The BIG one" that everyone likes to talk about will come from the San Andreas fault that runs through Palmdale. And yes, that one will be much bigger, and longer. The shaking alone will probably last a minute or more, and the magnitude probably will be around an 8. If we are lucky (or unlucky if you are not a geologist), it'll be larger.

What about aftershocks?

The quake map is already showing a few tiny ones. Because this was a (relatively) small earthquake, don't expect too many over a 4.5.

Was this a precursor to something bigger?

The fault that moved is not capable of much more then what it just gave out. It is unlikely that something large will happen again from the same location. However, when a piece of the earth moves, it may or may not put pressure on another piece. There is a chance that other local faults may move within the next year or so. Or not.

Should I move out of California?

What would you be escaping? Hurricanes on the southern coast? Volcanoes in the North Pacific? The fact that there is a fault running right under downtown New York City? Tornadoes and floods in the Midwest? Unlike tornadoes, with earthquakes my address won't suddenly move to the next county.

Are we falling into the ocean?

No, no, no. The coastal areas of California (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and so on) is moving north relative to the rest of the US. This means that we are sliding north, and not moving into the ocean. And furthermore, in order to fall in to something, there has to be a big hole underneath. Sadly, there is no such hole that will fit California, even if you wish there was one.

Final thoughts?

Memorize the Boy Scout motto, 'Be Prepared.' If you are not now, then you really should be. This is was not as big as some we have had in the past, and it is only a matter of time until something bigger comes along.

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Wow thanks for all the information jcoolkatzerg. Personally, I would rather take the earthquakes over all the crap I get here in CT. Not weather wise, but life wise.

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LOL at the judge judy video on YT if anyone saw that,,,
They were filming and the earthquake hit.

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I wish I could have seen that. I'll have to look for that. There is also a video of Conan O'Brian doing his show and then the fire alarm just goes off. It's funny.

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i saw that on the news

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YouTube - Raw Video: Quake Hits Judge Judy Taping

Found the video, good tip guys! Mind you, they film out near where I am, so they were a good 40 miles from where the epicenter was, and you can still see how much things move.

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That's pretty funny. That looks like it would have been fun to experience.

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Yea, it was fun.....but the best one still hasn't happened yet!

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hahaha that s funny. I love the look on the guy's face

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