The United States Geological Survey reported that an earthquake near San José, in Santa Clara County, California, with a preliminary magnitude of 3.0, was registered on the morning of Monday, March 20.
The quake occurred at 8:09 a.m. local time, at a depth of 5.8 kilometers, with an epicenter 9.9 miles east of Seven Trees, 10.7 miles north of Morgan Hill, and 10.7 miles east-southeast of Alum Rock.
The California Integrated Seismic Network -CISN, for its acronym in English?, explained that more than a hundred people have reported having felt the earthquake this morning.
The authority noted that this earthquake is part of the Calaveras Fault, which is divided into three segments, where the northern end of the central segment of the Calaveras fault last produced an earthquake in October 2007, magnitude 5.4, at Alum Rock.
Historically, though, the southern central segment of the Calaveras Fault has been the most seismically active, producing the magnitude 6.2 Morgan Hill earthquake in 1984 and a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in 1911.
Because its slip rate nearly matches the total slip rate of the fault, this segment is not believed to be capable of producing an earthquake of much larger magnitude than the 1984 Morgan Hill earthquake.
The 2003 California Earthquake Probability Working Group assigned a probability of 11% that the Calaveras Fault would produce an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or greater in the next 30 years.
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