Friday 14 December 2012

Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake off the coast of Baja California.

On Friday 14 December 2012, slightly after 2.35 am local time (slightly after 10.35 am, GMT) a Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake occurred at a depth of 11.3 km, off the west coast of Baja California, roughly roughly 250 km west of Tijuana or 300 km southeast of Los Angeles, according to the United States Geological Survey. This is a large Earthquake, and potentially dangerous, but it is quite a long way offshore so it is unlikely anyone has been hurt, though shaking was reportedly felt as far north as Bakersfield. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has not issued a tsunami warning.

Map showing the location of the 14 December 2012 quake and the areas where shaking was felt. USGS.

The Earthquake appears to be associated with the Murray or Molokai Fracture Zones, two of a series of fracture zones crossing the Pacific seafloor on an east-west axis, or with the San Andreas Fault/East Pacific Rise system, which runs overland south from San Francisco then under the Gulf of Mexico.

Faults and fracture zones in the area around the 14 December Earthquake. Plate Tectonics. 


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