Did you know that we had 2,412 earthquakes this past week? Many of these were on a 50 mile fault near Palm Springs (see map below) called the Laguna Salada Fault. This fault is a geological fault between the United States and Mexico. About 40 to 50 miles long, it straddles the California-Baja California border. It is thought to be the origin of the recent 7.2 Baja California earthquake on Sunday, April 4th. The fault line had not produced a major quake for over 100 years. According to some seismologists the Laguna Salada, Baja California earthquake of February 23, 1892 ranks among the largest earthquakes in California and Baja California in historic times.

The Laguna Salada Fault is a probable southern continuation of the Elsinore Fault Zone in Southern California. These faults are considered to be secondary cohorts of the San Andreas Fault, and as such share some of the strike-slip motion between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. Is the San Andreas Fault the next one to slip? See it for yourself on our San Andreas Fault Tour!