Hi Michael. Of the quakes you suggested the theory be given a try the Loma Prieta appears to be the only one that fits. Of course this may be nothing more then a coincidence.

The Hector Mine quake would fit, but only after the fact. The number of quakes that occurred east of the Hector Mine quake were far and few between. To the west is a different story. There was no lull right up to the day of quake. The same applies to the Northridge and Slymar quakes.

I think the main reason this theory won’t work for the southern California area is that there are too many faults that run throughout the area. I think though that there is something to watch for and that is the direction the majority of the quakes are moving, or appear to be moving. It seems to me that the strain would be behind that movement and that would be the area for a large quake. Of course it could also be the other way around. There is an apparent movement until it reaches the point it can’t move anymore. In the meantime everything keeps trying to move in the same direction. You can see this could go on and on until one day it can’t move anymore anywhere. Then it lets go with one big jolt. Then its starts all over again.

That is what happened in San Francisco in 1906. We had 73 years of peace and quiet until Aug. 6,1979 with the 5.7M Coyote Lake earthquake. Take Care…Don in creepy town.