What seismologists say was the largest earthquake to hit Southern California in 20 years rocked the region Thursday morning, and was felt on parts of the Central and South Coasts.
The U.S. Geological Survey says it was a magnitude 6.4 quake which hit at 10:33 a.m. It was centered in the Mojave Desert, near the community of Ridgecrest. It's about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
There were two foreshocks more than magitude two in the half hour before the main quake. More than 20 aftershocks magnitide 3.0 or more happened within a half hour after the quake.
Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones says the closest earthquake fault to the quake zone is the Little Lake Fault, which had its last major quake in 1982.
There are no reports of damage on the Central and South Coasts. The Ventura County Fire Department went into its earthquake mode, pulling fire trucks out of stations as a precaution. Numerous people reported feeling the quake in the region, with more reports in Ventura County than Santa Barbara County.
There is a major link between the quake zone and Ventura County. The China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in Ridgecrest is involved in numerous testing programs with Naval Base Ventura County, and personnel regularly travel between the two facilities,
