Hi Manda,

In a little bitty town due west of where I live, Olema, CA; there's a public education site which is part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. Its called The Earthquake Trail. Its not very long, but it encompasses the San Andreas Fault. All along the trail are exhibits that provide information about the 1906 earthquake and one of them answers your question.

The poster clearly says it would take 30,000 5.0 earthquakes to relive enough stress equal to an 8.0 earthquake. Well, 30,000 is a huge number and I can say almost positively there are no places on earth that have 8.0 quakes that are having enough of those stress relieving smaller quakes.

I would whole heartedly suggest for anyone who comes to the SF Bay Area and has a little geo time on hands, go and visit the EQ Trail. Its a beautiful place, great for picnics and the education is well worth it.

Petra