LOS ANGELES -- The moderate earthquake that struck the Los Angeles area Tuesday likely occurred a long a fault that could generate a much stronger, major quake in the future, according to scientists.
Seismologists say the Puente Hills thrust system could touch off earthquakes up to magnitude 7.5 directly underneath downtown Los Angeles. Such temblors would prove larger than any in the modern history of the Los Angeles Basin.
In a 2003 Los Angeles Times report, Sue Hough, a seismologist in the Pasadena office of the U.S. Geological Survey said, "This is the fault that could eat L.A."
The Puente Hills fault, which winds through the area's fractured underbelly for about 25 miles -- from northern Orange County to Beverly Hills -- has generated at least four earthquakes ranging from magnitude 7.2 to 7.5 in the last 11,000 years, according to a study published in the journal Science.
"The bad news," the report said, "is that when the Puente Hills thrust fault ruptures in an earthquake, it tends to do so in a very big way."
Tuesday's magnitude-4.4 quake struck at 4:04 a.m. and was centered 1 mile east-northeast of Pico Rivera, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries.
Residents as far away as San Diego and Santa Clarita reported feeling the quake, which consisted of some rumbling and a quick jolt.
Seismologists have not determined which fault was responsible for Tuesday's shaker, however, Daniel Ponti of the U.S. Geological Survey told the Whittier Daily News that it was likely on the Puente Hills thrust system.
It's the same fault that generated the 1987 5.9-magnitude Whittier Narrows Earthquake. Eight deaths were blamed on the quake, which caused more than $350 million in damage.
On the Web:
Be Prepared! Important Earthquake Preparedness Information at redcross.org
Seismologists say the Puente Hills thrust system could touch off earthquakes up to magnitude 7.5 directly underneath downtown Los Angeles. Such temblors would prove larger than any in the modern history of the Los Angeles Basin.
In a 2003 Los Angeles Times report, Sue Hough, a seismologist in the Pasadena office of the U.S. Geological Survey said, "This is the fault that could eat L.A."
The Puente Hills fault, which winds through the area's fractured underbelly for about 25 miles -- from northern Orange County to Beverly Hills -- has generated at least four earthquakes ranging from magnitude 7.2 to 7.5 in the last 11,000 years, according to a study published in the journal Science.
"The bad news," the report said, "is that when the Puente Hills thrust fault ruptures in an earthquake, it tends to do so in a very big way."
Tuesday's magnitude-4.4 quake struck at 4:04 a.m. and was centered 1 mile east-northeast of Pico Rivera, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries.
Residents as far away as San Diego and Santa Clarita reported feeling the quake, which consisted of some rumbling and a quick jolt.
Seismologists have not determined which fault was responsible for Tuesday's shaker, however, Daniel Ponti of the U.S. Geological Survey told the Whittier Daily News that it was likely on the Puente Hills thrust system.
It's the same fault that generated the 1987 5.9-magnitude Whittier Narrows Earthquake. Eight deaths were blamed on the quake, which caused more than $350 million in damage.
On the Web:
Be Prepared! Important Earthquake Preparedness Information at redcross.org
