Hi Tony. The area your concerned with is known as the Carrizo Plain. The Carrizo Plain is an arid place with not much in the way of life there although coyotes, fox, jackrabbits, ground squirrels and rattlesnakes can be found there. Quakes do occur in the area along the fault, but they are far and few between.

Not much is known about the seismic activity at Parkfield at the time of the great Fort Tejon earthquake that occurred on January 9, 1857. The quake that occurred on the San Andreas fault produced shaking that lasted 1-3 minutes and was felt over more than 350,000 square kilometers of southern and central California. It has been said that the quake was at least as large as the 1906 quake and there are some who say it may have been larger then the 1906 quake.

The maximum fault movement of about 9 meters occurred in the Carrizo Plain. Slip on the fault was less near the ends of the 1857 rupture. The northwest end of slip along the fault in 1857 is not known but it has been suggested to be have been near the town of Cholame. The towns of Cholame and Parkfield didn’t exist at the time of the quake. The fault ruptured to the south and is said to have ended near San Bernardino. Take Care…Don in creepy town

1857 quake

History