Hi again, Glen. Pending a response from a professional seismologist, I'll venture that your theory is unlikely to play out. The subject has been exhaustively studied by seismologists, and the change in static strain necessary to trigger quakes at those distances (the Salton Sea area from Central CA or, especially, Northern California) just doesn't exist. Especially static strain resulting from such moderate earthquakes as you've observed in Central and Northern California. Even a very large earthquake such as Landers, M7.3, with up to 70 miles of surface rupture, produced a stress change over an area which can barely be considered regional. See attached link.

The added stress from the vastly smaller quakes you are considering might, if anything, advance the timing of an earthquake that was already going to occur by seconds or minutes, but certainly not by days or months.

Dynamic stress change is, of course, a different animal, but its effects occur over much shorter time intervals than you are considering.

I recall reading an article in a professional journal some 10 years or more ago, which described a seismologist's research into how large subduction zone earthquakes in the subduction zones along the northern edge of the Pacific Plate (the direction the plate is heading, generally), were followed, several years later, by strike-slip earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. Recent attempts to find references to that, or similar work, have failed, so I think nothing much came of it (i.e. the correlation might have been too weak or nonexistent).

I hope you'll keep us posted with your results, Glen.

(disclaimer: I am not a professional seismologist)

Mike Williams in Arroyo Grande, CA

• Landers Stress Change