The Pinnacles National Monument felt quite a few rumbles this
weekend with one earthquake early Saturday morning and one Sunday
afternoon.
The Pinnacles National Monument felt quite a few rumbles this weekend with one earthquake early Saturday morning and one Sunday afternoon.
The first earthquake shook at 3:35 a.m. Saturday morning, and registered at 3.5 in magnitude. The epicenter was 10 miles northwest of the park and was felt throughout San Benito County, and as far away as San Jose. But Pinnacles Chief Ranger Jerry Case said there were no reports from campers at the park.
United States Geological Survey Seismologist Susan Garcia said it depends how close someone is to the fault line as to if they’ll feel it or not.
“Usually you’ll feel an earthquake if it’s bigger than a 3.0,” she said. “Whether it will cause damage depends on a matter of things like how close to the fault line you are, what kind of building structure you’re in and what kind of soil the building is built on.”
The second quake hit at 4:24 p.m. on Sunday, and was smaller, but still felt more than 81 miles away. It registered at 2.6 on the Richter Scale, and Garcia said most people probably didn’t even feel it. The epicenter was 11 miles southeast of the Pinnacles.
“Small earthquakes like this are very common in that area, and they happen all the time,” she said. “We call them micro quakes and chances are, most people won’t even notice them.”
The weekend quakes caused no damage, according to the USGS. For more information on their exact location, log onto: quake.wr.usgs.gov.
