San Ramon, California, experienced an earthquake of 3.3 magnitude on Monday, November 17, at 10:47 PM, the East Bay Times is reporting. The epicenter of the quake was 2.4 miles southeast of San Ramon.
Effects of the quake were felt as far away as Oakland, Union City, and Dublin, but no casualties have been reported as of now.
The East Bay region, where San Ramon is located, experienced seismic activity on November 9 as well. In the morning of that day, there was a series of quakes, with the strongest one being of 3.8 magnitude, CBS News reports. As per the United States Geological Survey, eight earthquakes, in all, struck the region on November 9 in a span of three hours.
This region is located in the seismically active Calaveras Fault, which is a branch of the San Andreas Fault Zone. This fault zone is 1200 kilometers long, as per the American Museum of Natural History’s website, and forms the boundary between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates.
Is the San Andreas Fault ‘breaking open’?
As per an article in the International Business Times UK edition, the latest earthquake is not attributed to the widening of the San Andreas Fault by the experts.
The Calaveras Fault, on which San Ramon is located and which caused Monday’s quake, regularly causes tremors in the region. However, the northern segment of the fault only moves 2-3 millimeters in a year, as per the United States Geological Survey, and the central portion of it moves just 14 millimeters in a year. Such minor changes do not suggest any major upheaval, as of now.
However, the area remains vulnerable to a major earthquake sometime in the coming years. According to UC Berkeley’s Seismological Lab, cited by International Business Times, there is a 72 percent chance of a major earthquake hitting the greater Bay Area by 2043.
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Reassuringly, though, the recent spate of minor earthquakes does not hint at a larger one coming in the near future. The seismic activity of the last couple of weeks does not indicate any ‘opening’ of the San Andreas Fault.
FAQs
What was the location of the latest earthquake in California?
The epicenter of the quake was around 2.4 miles southeast of San Ramon.
What was the magnitude of the earthquake?
3.3.
