1952 Kern County earthquake

The 1952 Kern County earthquake occurred on July 21, 1952 in Kern County, California, with a magnitude of 7.3M_w. It was the largest earthquake to strike Southern California since the Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 and the 1872 Lone Pine earthquake, causing immense and widespread damage. The mainshock killed 12 people, injured 18 and caused over $50 million in property damage. Damage occurred as far away as Los Angeles, where six people were killed. It was followed by several aftershocks, at least 20 of which were magnitude 5.0 or greater, including a magnitude 5.8 on August 22 that killed an additional 2 people. The quake occurred on the White Wolf Fault and was the second strongest quake in California in the past hundred years, second only to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

External links

* [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/events/1952_07_21.php Historic Earthquakes: Kern County, California] at the "United States Geological Survey"

* [http://www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/kerncoun.html Kern County Earthquake] at the "Southern California Earthquake Data Center"