Hi All. With the recent quake activity near Coalinga and Avenal I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t more going on that we can’t see.

The quakes in the area of Coalinga are occurring on “segment 13” of the Great Valley fault. The quake near Avenal is on “segment 14” of the Great Valley fault. There is also that little quake located 20 miles WNW of Bakersfield. There are some faults in the area of the quake, but they are unnamed and haven’t been studied as they don’t show any activity, but still they aren’t considered to be inactive. They are sort of in a gray area. They are known to be there but very little else.

Just over the hill to the west (about 17 miles) is the San Andreas fault. The segment of this fault in the area of the Carrizo Plain has been locked since about 1857. 1857 is the date of the Fort Tejon quake, which is kind of misleading, as it is now believed the quake, centered in the area of Chalome, which is located to the south of Parkfield. The Parkfield seismic gap is located just to the south of Chalome and again this is close to the area of the 1857 quake.

Could it be that the quakes that have been occurring along either side of the San Andreas fault are the weak links? Could it be that there is another major quake building in the area of Avenal? There isn’t very much there to say another major quake is in the offering, but can’t rule it out. What will happen when there are no more weak links? A lot of questions, but no answers. Take Care…Don in creepy town