Swarm of Small Quakes Shake Southern California Desert

A swarm of small earthquakes have struck a sparsely populated area of the Southern California desert, but there were no reports of any damages or injuries.

The first, a magnitude-4.0 quake, struck at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday at the edge of the Salton Sea about eight miles west of Calipatria and about 10 miles deep.

It was followed by two magnitude-3.3 quakes that shook virtually the same spot in the two hours that followed. At least a dozen tiny quakes occurred between the larger ones.

Imperial County sheriff’s and fire officials say there have been no reports of any problems from the quakes.